Sweden signs NATO request, Finns must formally approve the move
Sweden has signed a formal request to join NATO, one day after announcing that it would seek membership in the military alliance with 30 members.
STOCKHOLM – On Tuesday, Sweden signed a formal request to join NATO, a day after the country announced that it would apply for membership in the military alliance with 30 members. In neighboring Finland, legislators are expected to formally approve the decision of Finnish leaders to join later in the day.
The moves of the two Nordic countries, which ended Sweden’s more than 200 years of military alliance freedom and Finland’s freedom of alliance after World War II, have angered the Kremlin.
While most NATO members are keen to welcome the two countries as soon as possible, Turkey has potentially complicated their accession by saying that it can not allow them to become members because of their perceived passivity against Kurdish militants in exile.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled his comments last week, which indicated that the two Nordic countries’ path to NATO would be anything but smooth. All 30 current NATO countries must agree to open the door to new members. He accused the two Nordic countries of refusing to extradite “terrorists” wanted by his country.
In Stockholm, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde signed the formal request to join the alliance, which she said would be sent to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
“It feels like we have made a decision that is the best for Sweden,” she said when she signed the document.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto arrived in Sweden for an official two-day visit and was welcomed by Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, who had invited him. Niinisto will speak to the Swedish Parliament in a speech that is expected to focus on NATO and meet Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
On Twitter, Niinisto said that “the timing is excellent, a strong and stable Nordic region is our common cause.”
During a short press conference, Carl XVI Gustaf said “the visit is marked by the serious situation in our vicinity.” Niinisto added that “our security policy line has long been similar and even now, when the situation demands it, we are taking our steps together.”