Biden signs documents supporting Sweden and Finland for NATO
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WASHINGTON, Aug 9 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden was set to sign documents on Tuesday supporting Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the most significant expansion of the military alliance since the 1990s in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. Senate backed the expansion by an overwhelming 95-1 vote last week, a rare show of bipartisan unity in a bitterly divided Washington. Both Democratic and Republican senators endorsed strong membership for the two Nordic countries, describing them as important allies whose modern militaries already worked closely with NATO. Read more
The vote was a sharp contrast to some rhetoric in Washington under former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration, which pursued an “America First” foreign policy and criticized NATO allies for failing to meet defense spending targets.
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Sweden and Finland applied for membership in NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries against joining the alliance.
NATO’s 30 allies signed the Accession Protocol for Sweden and Finland last month, allowing them to join the nuclear-armed bloc once all member states ratify the decision. Read more
Accession must be ratified by the parliaments of all 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization before Finland and Sweden can be protected by Article Five, the defense clause that says an attack on one ally is an attack on all.
Ratification could take up to a year, although accession has already been approved by a few countries, including Canada, Germany and Italy.
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Reporting by Patricia Zengerle Editing by Mark Heinrich
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