Blinken reassures Sweden ahead of the country’s NATO application
Washington: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed in a telephone conversation with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde US support for NATO’s open door policy, says State Department spokesman Ned Price in a press release.
Sweden can apply for NATO membership later this month or in June, while Finland is reportedly considering applying to join the alliance on May 12, media reported.
“Foreign Secretary Antony J. Blinken met today with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in Washington, DC,” Price said in the press release on Wednesday. “Secretary Blinken emphasized the importance of the transatlantic relationship with European security and reaffirmed our commitment to NATO’s Open Door policy.”
Sweden and Finland have both expressed concern about being vulnerable to Russia during the application period, which Linde alluded to during an interview after the talks with Blinken.
“Of course I do not intend to go into any details, but I feel very confident that now we have an American declaration,” Linde told Swedish TV on Wednesday, quoted by Reuters. “However, not concrete security guarantees, the ones you can only get if you are a full member of NATO.”
According to the report, however, Linde has declined to say what insurance she received from Blinken.
“They would mean that Russia can be clear that if they direct any kind of negative activity towards Sweden, which they have threatened, then it would not be something that the United States would just allow to happen … without an answer,” she said. as quoted in the report.
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic said on Tuesday that he would block the accession of Sweden and Finland at the NATO summit in Madrid if he is the one representing Croatia.
But if the decisions are made at the North Atlantic Council by NATO ambassadors, Milanovic said he was not sure he could persuade the Croatian ambassador to embrace his position but added that “I will hunt down the sinful souls of every Member of Parliament who votes in favor of the devil. ”