Former NATO chief says Sweden, Finland should apply for membership ‘now’ | World news
When both Sweden and Finland want to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a former secretary general of the International Military Alliance has said that the time for both countries to join the alliance is “now” because Russia is “busy” with its ongoing invasion of Ukraine .
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“As for Finland and Sweden, I think there is a window of opportunity for them to join, right now, because Russian President Vladimir Putin is busy in Ukraine. He can do nothing about it, “former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told CNBC on Saturday.
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If this is not done now, both Finland and Sweden would be exposed to Russian threats and threats, Rasmussen warned. “This is because it may take months for the Accession Protocol to be finalized, as the parliaments of each of NATO’s 30 member states must ratify the Accession Protocol, and it will take a few months to do so,” the former Danish Prime Minister said.
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Given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which was partly due to the former’s desire to join the alliance headquartered in Brussels, Sweden and Finland began discussing the possibility of abandoning their long-term neutrality and joining NATO. In March, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s current secretary general, said he would “like” to welcome them and even speed up their membership applications if they decide to join.
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Also read | Finland will “most likely” apply to NATO after Russia‘ warning of consequences
NATO members – 28 European states, the United States and Canada – are required to defend each other in the event of a third-party attack. Individual NATO states have assisted Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression; Moscow started the war on February 24.
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According to an estimate by the USA, Finland will probably make a final decision to apply for membership this month itself, while Sweden can submit a formal application at the end of June.
(With agency input)