NATO announced Wednesday that it is officially inviting Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, the most significant expansion to the group in decades.
What You Need To Know
- NATO is officially inviting Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, the most significant expansion to the group in decades
- The announcement came as leaders of NATO countries, including President Joe Biden, are meeting for a summit this week in Madrid
- Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO last month
- Turkey dropped its opposition Tuesday after holding negotiations with the two Nordic countries
“The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO stronger, and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure,” NATO said in a statement. The security of Finland and Sweden is of direct importance to the Alliance, including during the accession process.”
The announcement came as the leaders of NATO countries, including President Joe Biden, are meeting for a summit this week in Madrid.
Spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO last month.
Turkey, however, initially opposed admitting the two Nordic countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objection stemmed from grievances with Sweden’s — and to a lesser degree with Finland’s — perceived support of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and an armed group in Syria that Turkey sees as an extension of the PKK. The conflict with the PKK has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.
Turkey also accuses Sweden and Finland of harboring the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric whom the Turkish government blames for 2016 military coup attempt.
There must be consensus among all 30 NATO countries nations on adding new members.
But Turkey agreed Tuesday to lift its opposition, saying it had “got what it wanted” in negotiations, including “full cooperation … in the fight against” the rebel groups.
Among its many shattering consequences, President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their long-held nonaligned status and apply to join NATO as protection against an increasingly aggressive and unpredictable Russia — which shares a long border with Finland. Under NATO treaties, an attack on any member would be considered an attack against all and trigger a military response by the entire alliance.
Finland’s and Sweden’s entries into NATO will bring the number of nations in the alliance to 32.
