Sweden and Finland will deliver their applications for admission to NATO this Wednesday in Brussels, The Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson, announced this Tuesday at a joint press conference with the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, on an official visit to Stockholm.
“Throughout tomorrow we will submit the request to NATO. It is a strong message and a clear sign that we are together in the future,” said Niinistö.
The announcement came after the Eduskunta (Finnish Parliament) ratified this Tuesday by a large majority the country’s entry into the Allianceapproved two days ago by the president and the Government, and that the Swedish Executive announced yesterday that it would request entry into that organization.
Andersson stressed that joining the Alliance, of which Sweden and Finland are allies but not members, is “the best thing for our security.” and was glad that they have chosen the same path and do it togetherrecalling the historical and cultural ties that unite both countries.
“Joining NATO strengthens the security of Sweden but also that of the Baltic, and doing it at the same time as Finland means that we will contribute to the security of northern Europe,” Andersson said. Niinistö spoke of a joint “historic step” and a “triumph” of democracy.
“February 24 (the start of the Russian military intervention in Ukraine) was a day that changed many things, but things had happened before.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin “He said at the end of November that NATO could not be enlarged, that Sweden and Finland could not be members. That changed everything”, he claimed.
The Finnish president assured that the north of Europe will be from now on “a castle of security”.
“I had a phone conversation with Putin the other day and I was very surprised that he was calm. One might wonder why. One reason may be that Russia does not want to tell its people that it has new problems, it is better to say that it was expected,” the Finnish president said.
Sweden and Finland already received NATO support at an informal meeting in Berlin of their foreign ministers on Sunday, although Turkey has been critical of both for their alleged support for Kurdish activists and others whom it considers “terrorists”.
Both Niinistö and Andersson today, however, were convinced that the situation could be unblocked through dialogue with Ankara.
EFE
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