Final admission process entails approval by the legislatures of the 30 current members
THIS JUST IN – NATO has voted to approve the membership applications of Finland and Sweden, a move that increases NATO border with Russia by another 800 miles.
The two new members point to Russia’s February 24 “unprovoked” invasion of Ukraine as the reason for the shift from their historic neutrality to applying to join NATO.
Ironically, one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s aims for invading Ukraine was to weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Rather, his invasion has solidified the alliance and attracted two new members.
Article 5 of NATO’s charter views an attack on any member as an attack on the entire alliance, which triggers a collective response.
Finland and Sweden have both witnessed Russia continue to destroy Ukraine as the west stands by and only resorts to sending in military aid instead of actively defending Ukraine.
Announcing the approval, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO’s door remains open to democracies north of the Atlantic who applies for membership and commits to dedicating 2% of their GDP to defense spending.
The approval of the two new members must now be ratified by the legislative bodies of all 30 members, which can take six to 12 months and expected to face no objections.
Turkey was the last country standing in the way of admitting Finland and Sweden, but Ankara dropped its objection two weeks ago and thus paved the way for the historic additions to the alliance.
DNT News. Brussels.