To date, 23 out of 30 countries of the alliance have ratified the documents on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, speaking in Norway.
“A few hours ago, the US Senate ratified the accession protocols. Thus, the number of members (of the alliance – ed.) who ratified the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO has reached 23,” his published speech says.
In addition, some members of the alliance are “close to completing their national procedures” for ratification, Stoltenberg added.
“So far, this has been the fastest accession process in NATO’s modern history,” he said.
Finland and Sweden, against the backdrop of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, submitted applications to the NATO Secretary General to join the alliance in May. At first, Turkey blocked the start of consideration of these applications, but then – on June 29 – Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a security memorandum that takes into account all Ankara’s concerns. Turkey has lifted its objections to the entry of two northern European countries into NATO.
Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character.
At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but on an equal footing, while the West should abandon its policy of militarizing the continent.
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