Sweden officially applied for NATO membership.
Sweden formally applied for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Sunday.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats announced on Sunday that the country has formally decided to apply for NATO membership.
A few hours ago, the President and the Government of Finland announced that the country intends to apply for NATO membership in order to pave the way for the expansion of the military alliance of 30 Western countries in the midst of Russian special military operations in Ukraine and amid Moscow warnings.
The decision was announced by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sana Marin of Finland at a joint news conference at the Helsinki Presidential Palace. The Finnish parliament is expected to approve the decision in the coming days in a move that will be more ceremonial. Finland will then formally apply for NATO membership, most likely next week.
Meanwhile, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said today (Sunday) that the military alliance is confident it can overcome Turkish opposition and quickly accept Finland and Sweden.
According to Reuters, the foreign ministers of the 30 NATO member states are holding two-day talks (Saturday-Sunday) in Berlin, focusing on the application of the two northern European countries. Their formal application to join NATO is expected in the next few days.
On Saturday, however, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu unexpectedly raised objections, saying it was “unacceptable” for potential new NATO members to support Pokuk.
According to the report, it is still unclear whether talks between Cavusoglu and several NATO foreign ministers, as well as their Finnish and Swedish counterparts, have made progress in resolving the dispute.
