The US Senate votes 95 to 1 to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO
Facing similar situations as Ukraine, amid threats and warnings from Russia, both nations are pushing to join NATO.
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a battleground between East and West. Since the Cold War era, the world was divided between two blocs, NATO and the Warsaw Pact. Around the same time, NAM also came into existence, but could not prevent the two nations from ending up in conflict with each other.
Moreover, the Cold War era ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The world has evolved since then and we have entered a new century, but unfortunately the ideology lives in the past.
Recently Ukraine was invaded on the same lines. However, to continue their expansion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has proposed that Finland and Sweden be included, strengthening the Western military alliance.
Republicans and Democrats came together and voted 95 to 1, with Senator Josh Hawley opposing the expansion. In the midst of the retaliatory actions against Sweden and Finland from Russia, the USA continues to move forward. Furthermore, the 30 members of the alliance must give their consent to the addition of the two nations. While 22 countries have already done so, countries such as Turkey pose a threat to expansion.
Turkey accused both nations of being soft on the Turkish Kurdish exile group. Turkey’s objection could cause problems in the expansion. Furthermore, another amendment proposed by Senator Dan Sullivan was approved during the process which stated that all NATO members would spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense and 20 percent of their defense budgets on key equipment, including research and development, reported AP.
After the vote, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a tweet, “I welcome the Senate’s ratification of @NATO membership for Finland and Sweden. Finland and Sweden are long-standing, faithful partners, and I look forward to the swift and full ratification of other NATO members who a commitment to transatlantic security. (sic)”
US President Biden released a press release saying, “This historic vote sends an important signal about America’s enduring, bipartisan commitment to NATO and to ensuring that our alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”