US President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed US ratification of the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO, the expansion of the alliance decided after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The two Nordic countries will be “strong, reliable allies with great potential” in the US-led military alliance, Mr Biden assured during the signing ceremony at the White House.
The American Senate ratified last Wednesday by a large majority (95 votes in favor, two-thirds majority required, 67 votes) the protocols of admission of Finland and Sweden to the Atlantic alliance. They need to be approved by all member states for the two countries to join.
From the outset, Joe Biden has made restoring transatlantic relations, mishandled by his predecessor Donald Trump, a priority of his foreign policy. NATO is part of the “security foundations” of the US, he reminded yesterday.
He praised at the same time that the two countries have “strong democratic institutions” and armed forces that will strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
According to a White House press release, Mr. Biden spoke by phone yesterday with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niiniste and Swedish Prime Minister Eva Magdalena Andersson and congratulated them on “one more step” in their admission process.
Accession protocols have been ratified by 23 NATO member states, according to its parliamentary assembly. The most important obstacle to the completion of the process is Turkey, as Ankara primarily accuses Stockholm and Helsinki of protecting members of the separatist armed Kurdish movement the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and other organizations it characterizes as terrorist.
By ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin “shattered peace and security in Europe,” the US president said at the ceremony. “Putin thought he could divide us (…). Instead, he’s getting exactly what he didn’t want.”
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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