Finland and Sweden formally apply for NATO membership.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Finland and Sweden have formally applied to join the larger military alliance – a move made for security reasons – in particular because of the Russian occupation in Ukraine.
“We are very pleased to accept the demands of Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
“You are our closest partners,” Stoltenberg told reporters after accepting applications from the ambassadors of the two Nordic countries.
Applications for membership must be sent to all 30 member states.
The process is expected to take about two weeks, despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan openly expressing some reservation about Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
And if disagreements are overcome and talks go according to plan, the two Scandinavian countries could be members of NATO within a few months.
This process usually takes eight to 12 months, but NATO wants an accelerated process following the threats these countries received from Russia.
For example, Canada has announced that it expects to ratify the membership protocol within a few days.
Public opinion in Finland and Sweden is largely in favor of NATO membership – especially when Russia began invading Ukraine on 24 February.
Finland and Sweden are NATO’s closest partners. These two countries have developed democracies, highly advanced armed forces that have contributed to the Alliance during military operations.