Despite all the threats and insinuations from Russia, Finland and Sweden on Wednesday officially applied to join NATO at the alliance’s headquarters, starting the process of accession, which is expected to take only a few weeks.
At the same time, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed this step, stressing that there is a consensus among member states regarding the expansion of the defense alliance.
What called this decision of the two countries “a historic step.” During a meeting with the ambassadors of Finland and Sweden, Klaus Korhonen and Axel Wernhof, he made it clear that the security interests of all countries must be taken into account.
For his part, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod stressed the need to start accession negotiations between the two countries as soon as possible.
And he said in a tweet via his Twitter account: “His country will do everything in its power to ensure the speedy process of accession,” stressing that the security of the two countries is the security of Denmark.
It might take a year
Informed diplomats previously confirmed that ratification by the parliaments of all 30 member states could take up to a year.
And Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson signaled on Tuesday that the two countries will present their requests today, over objections from both Turkey and Russia, abandoning a longstanding policy of neutrality they have pursued for decades over fears raised by a Russian military operation. in Ukraine, and concerns about Moscow’s broader intentions.
