Canada supports Sweden and Finland joining the NATO alliance
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Canada is “very supportive” of Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
Each of the countries has expressed interest in becoming part of the defensive military alliance since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February.
The Finnish parliament can make a decision at the end of May, followed by Sweden in the weeks ahead, ahead of the NATO summit on 29-30 June in Madrid, Spain.
Russia has warned them to join, with officials saying it would not contribute to stability in Europe, and that Russia would respond with retaliatory measures that would cause “military and political consequences” for Helsinki and Stockholm.
President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine’s refusal to promise not to join NATO is part of the reason for the invasion.
Finland shares the European Union’s longest border with Russia, a 1,340-kilometer border.
Last week, the Finnish government issued a security report to legislators addressing the pros and cons of a possible membership, focusing on supply threats, economic effects, cyber security and hybrid threats.
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The Swedish governing party has begun a review of security policy alternatives with a final report on 31 May.
Canada, led by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, supported Ukraine’s entry into the NATO alliance at the 2008 summit, but that offer was blocked.
In early April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled former German and French leaders Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy for blocking his country from joining.
@JustinTrudeau says that Canada “very much supports” that #Sweden, #Finland joins the #Nato alliance. #CDNPoli #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion
Membership could have protected Ukraine from future Russian attacks under the Alliance’s Article 5 collective defense guarantee.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on April 21, 2022.
– With files from the Associated Press