BRUSSELS: 30 NATO allies on Tuesday signed a protocol to make Sweden and Finland members. After this, the membership request of both the countries was sent to the coalition capitals for legislative approval. In the wake of the February invasion of neighboring Ukraine and the military conflict since then, the move has served to bolster efforts to strategically isolate Russia. “This is a truly historic moment for Finland, Sweden, and NATO,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
30 ambassadors and permanent representatives formally approved the decisions of last week’s NATO summit after the coalition made the historic decision to invite Russia’s neighbors Finland and Sweden to join the military club. Despite the agreement in the alliance, member state Turkey may still cause problems with Sweden and Finland’s eventual inclusion in NATO.
Last week, Turkish leader Rajab Tayyip Erdoan warned if the two countries failed to fully meet Turkey’s demand for the extradition of suspected terrorists linked to illegal Kurdish groups or a network of exiled clerics accused of a failed 2016 coup So Ankara may still block the process. He said that Turkey’s parliament could refuse to ratify the agreement.
This is an obstacle for Sweden and Finland as finalizing the process of joining them in NATO would require formal approval from all 30 member states. The signing of the protocol on Tuesday is meant to create more space for Sweden and Finland in the NATO camp. As a close partner, he has already attended some of the coalition meetings that involved issues that affected him at the moment. Both countries can attend all meetings of ambassadors as official invitees, even though they do not yet have any voting rights.
