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Sweden, Finland, and NATO officially launched their membership, a historic step

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Sweden, Finland, and NATO officially launched their membership, a historic step

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(AFP, Brussels, 4th) The foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland met with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) today to discuss the formal launch of the process of joining NATO, a historic step. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted both countries to apply to join NATO.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde and Finland’s Pekka Haavisto have this opportunity to lead the talks after NATO member Turkey dropped its opposition to the two countries joining last week.

NATO’s 30 ambassadors are expected to sign a protocol for Sweden and Finland tomorrow, starting a months-long process for member states to ratify the two countries’ accession.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Sweden and Finland announced their intention to abandon their military non-alignment and seek membership in NATO.

Last week’s NATO summit in Madrid showed support by inviting both countries to join after Turkey’s concerns were backed by both countries and the United States promised to sell Turkey’s new jets.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Sweden and Finland of promoting “terrorism” and sheltering Kurdish militants that Erdogan is trying to fight.

Erduan also asked to lift the arms embargo imposed by the two countries in response to Turkey’s 2019 deployment of troops to Syria.

Some of the promises made by Sweden and Finland are not made public, and may include extradition agreements, for example. Erdogan said that if Sweden and Finland fail to deliver on their promises, they could still block the two countries from joining NATO, making other members anxious. (Translator: Yang Zhaoyan / Verification: Chen Zhengyi)

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