Stoltenberg announces formal launch of ratification process for Sweden, Finland membership
Jens Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the process to ratify Sweden and Finland as the newest members of the military alliance has been formally launched.
He told reporters in a joint press statement with the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers "This is a good day for Finland and Sweden and a good day for NATO."
"With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger and our people will be even safer as we face the biggest security crisis in decades," he added.
Opening a months-long period for alliance countries to ratify their membership, NATO's 30 member states are expected to sign the accession protocols for the two Nordic countries in a meeting.
Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said, "We are tremendously grateful for all the strong support that our accession has received from the allies."
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"We are convinced that our membership would strengthen NATO and add to the stability in the Euro Atlantic area," she added.
Both Sweden and Finland announced their intention to drop their military non-alignment status and become part of NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
After Turkey won concessions over concerns it had raised and a US promise it would receive new warplanes, a NATO summit in Madrid last week endorsed that move by issuing invitations to the two nations.
Accusing both countries of promoting "terrorism", Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said they were havens for Kurdish militants he has sought to crush.
After putting forward his demand to lift arms embargoes imposed for Turkey's 2019 military incursion into Syria, Erdogan said he could still block Sweden and Finland's bids if NATO fails to fulfill its promises.
(With inputs from agencies)
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