NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the Atlantic Alliance would welcome Sweden and Finland “with open arms”. if they present their candidacy to be part of the organization, a decision that, he warned, depends in any case on those two countries.
“Of course, it is up to Sweden and Finland to decide whether they want to apply for NATO membership or not, but if they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden would be welcomed with open arms in NATO.”, Stoltenberg said at a press conference with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, before participating in a meeting of the conference of presidents of that institution.
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Stoltenberg assured that Sweden and Finland are “the closest partners” of the Alliance and “strong and mature democracies, members of the European Union”.
“We have worked with Finland and Sweden for many years, we know that their Armed Forces meet NATO standards, they are interoperable with NATO forces, we train together, we exercise together, and we have also worked on many different missions and operations” explained the Norwegian politician.
For all these reasons, he pointed out that if both countries request to join the Alliance “they will be very welcome and I also hope that the process will be quick and that they will then be able to join NATO once the formal procedure has been finalized”.
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The secretary general indicated that the decision to invite them to join the Alliance would already send a “strong political signal” that “the security of Sweden and Finland matters to all NATO allies”, and was convinced that they could reach “security agreements” during the interim period since they requested their entry until it culminated in its formal ratification by the parliaments of the 30 allies.
“So that there is no uncertainty about the right of Finland and Sweden to choose their own path,” he added, stressing that “when Russia tries to intimidate, threaten Sweden and Finland not to run, it shows how Russia is not respecting the right basic of each nation to choose its own path”.
Likewise, given Russia’s “brutal aggression” against Ukraine, considered it necessary for the Alliance to give practical and political support to countries in Europe that do not belong to NATO or the EUsuch as Georgia and Moldova, which have also been threatened by Moscow.
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When Russia tries to intimidate, threaten Sweden and Finland not to run, it shows how Russia is not respecting the basic right of every nation
Stoltenberg also said that NATO and the EU are united in their solidarity with Ukraine and recalled that their member states have imposed “unprecedented” sanctions on Moscow and have granted economic support to Ukraine.
He specified that, to date, the allies have “committed and provided at least 8,000 million dollars in defense support to Ukraine.”
“We see the importance of continuing to accelerate our support for Ukraine,” he added.
(Keep reading: Putin threatens countries that support Ukraine with ‘blitzkrieg’)
For her part, the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, said Thursday during a visit to Athens that her country will make a decision “very soon” on a possible entry into NATO, and assured that the Russian invasion of Ukraine totally changed the security situation in Finland.
“We have a modern army and we can work with NATO, as we have done for decades in joint exercises,” Marin stressed, adding that “if we unite, we will contribute to the security of the entire alliance,” he said.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING*
*With information from EFE and AFP
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