NATO has formally invited Sweden and Finland to become its newest members
The US-led military bloc NATO has formally invited former non-aligned Sweden and Finland to join its ranks.
“Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO and have agreed to sign the accession protocols.” said the bloc in a statement on Wednesday during the summit in Madrid, Spain.
The two Nordic states decided to renounce their long tradition of not joining a military bloc after Russia sent troops to Ukraine at the end of February.
Shortly before the invitation was announced, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described Sweden’s and Finland’s path to membership as “unprecedented.”
The decision to include the two Nordic nations in the bloc must now be approved by the parliaments of all 30 member states.
“It always takes some time. But me [also] expect it to go pretty fast ” said Stoltenberg, adding that the Allies are “ready” to have the ratification done as soon as possible.
Sweden and Finland signed an agreement with Turkey on Tuesday, paving the way for the invitation. Ankara had previously said they would block their membership and accused the Nordic states of harboring people with links to Kurdish organizations, which Turkey considers terrorist groups.
Russian President Vladimir Putin cited NATO’s expansion to the east and attempts to establish it “a foothold” in Ukraine as one of the causes of the conflict in Ukraine.
Source: sn.dk