Nato chief hails ‘historic moment’ as Finland and Sweden apply to join
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg has said the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests.
The official applications, handed over by Finland and Sweden’s ambassadors to Nato, set a security clock ticking. Russia, whose war on Ukraine spurred them to join the military organisation, has warned that it would not welcome such a move, and could respond.
Mr Stoltenberg said: “I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join Nato. You are our closest partners. All allies agree on the importance of Nato enlargement. We all agree that we must stand together, and we all agree that this is a historic moment which we must seize.”
“This is a good day at a critical moment for our security,” a beaming Mr Stoltenberg said, as he stood alongside the two envoys, with Nato, Finnish and Swedish flags at their backs.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has demanded that the alliance stop expanding toward Russia’s borders, and several Nato allies, led by the United States and Britain, have signalled that they stand ready to provide security support to Finland and Sweden should he try to provoke or destabilise them during the time it takes to become full members.
The countries will only benefit from the Article 5 security guarantee – the part of Nato’s founding treaty pledging that any attack on a member would be considered an attack on them all – once the membership ratification process is concluded, probably in a few months.
The move is one of the biggest ramifications of the war and will rewrite Europe’s security map. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson welcomed it in a tweet and said that “Putin’s appalling ambitions have transformed the geopolitical contours of our continent”.
The application must be weighed by the 30 member countries, a process expected to take about two weeks, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining. If his objections are overcome, and accession talks go as well as expected, the two could become members soon.
The process usually takes eight to 12 months, but Nato wants to move quickly, given the threat from Russia hanging over the Nordic countries. Canada, for example, says it expects to ratify their accession protocol in just a few days – while in the Baltic region, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweeted: “I encourage a rapid accession process. We in Estonia will do our part fast.”
Mr Stoltenberg said Nato allies “are determined to work through all issues and reach rapid conclusions”.
The fact that the Nordic partners applied together means they won’t lose time by having to ratify each other’s membership application.
“That Sweden and Finland go hand-in-hand is a strength. Now the process of joining the talks continues,” said Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde.
It should not take long to win approval in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Their prime ministers issued a joint statement yesterday saying they “fully endorse and warmly welcome the historic decisions” taken in Helsinki and Stockholm”.
Public opinion in Finland and Sweden has shifted massively in favour of membership since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Finland and Sweden co-operate closely with Nato. They have functioning democracies, wellfunded armed forces and contribute to the alliance’s military operations and air policing. Any obstacles they face will merely be of a technical or, possibly, political nature.
The North Atlantic Council of the 30 member countries will decide whether to move towards membership. This mostly depends on how well aligned the countries are with Nato’s political, military and legal standards, and whether they contribute to security in the North Atlantic area.