– When there are 32 nations around the table, we are even stronger and our nations are even safer when we face the biggest security crisis in decades, stated the NATO Secretary General. Jens Stoltenberg at the press conference after the signing ceremony.
Xinhua reports that NATO’s 30 member states formally invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance at a NATO summit last week in Madrid, Spain, just seven weeks after both countries submitted their applications in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Firstly, NATO member Turkey, concerned about the fight against terrorism, blocked the accession process, but after signing a memorandum of understanding with Finland and Sweden, Turkey removed its veto against NATO Madrid. meeting.
The next step is for the parliaments of all 30 NATO member countries to ratify the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO in accordance with their own national procedures. The previous accession was ratified within a year, Stoltenberg said, but since the accession process of Sweden and Finland has been accelerated since the beginning, this could proceed faster.
The NATO summit began in Madrid on June 28, when the Western military alliance was able to show a united front against Moscow and start the process for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance.
This summit came about when Turkey lifted its veto on Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO, ending a dispute that tested the alliance’s unity.
The agreement marked a significant change in European security dynamics as the Nordic countries abandon decades of neutrality to join the military alliance.
The NATO summit in Madrid has become one of the most significant meetings in the history of the military alliance.
Source: ANI
Source: The Nordic Page