Washington approves Sweden and Finland to join NATO
According to NATO, 23 countries, including the United States, have now approved the entry of Sweden and Finland.
The United States on Wednesday approved the NATO accession protocols of Finland and Sweden, following a historic decision by both countries to abandon their neutrality over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US Senate approved the resolution in a vote by an overwhelming majority of elected officials from both parties (95 votes to 1). A two-thirds majority is required to ratify the text. The Biden administration strongly supported the endorsement, which was supposed to demonstrate the Atlantic alliance’s resilience in the face of an expansionist Russia.
In the United States, only the Senate has the power to ratify international treaties. Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to use the war in Ukraine to divide the West. Instead, today’s vote shows that the coalition is stronger than ever,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said shortly before the vote.
23 out of 30
The vote comes a day after the French parliament and Italy approved the accession protocols on Wednesday. According to NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly tally, 23 countries, including the United States, have already approved two of the 30 required accessions.
All NATO member states must ratify the Accession Protocols before they come into force, so that Finland and Sweden can benefit from Article 5. Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, established in 1949 at the beginning of the Cold War, triggers a trigger. A common response is if an attack is made against one of the members.
During Wednesday’s debate, senators rejected an amendment that would have tried to protect the prerogatives of the US Congress to declare war if Article 5 is invoked.
Not yet acquired
NATO membership for Sweden and Finland has yet to be secured, with Turkey threatening to “freeze” the process, accusing the two Nordic countries of favoring the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its allies, which Ankara views as terrorist organizations.
Ankara, which had blocked their entry into the Atlantic alliance since May, signed a memorandum of understanding with them in June linking their membership to the fight against Kurdish movements and their supporters on their soil. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again threatened to ban Sweden at the end of July, accusing it of “not doing its part” in the fight against terrorism.
Sweden and Finland, which have not yet joined NATO to avoid angering neighboring Russia, submitted their candidacy after Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24. These were approved at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
These accessions represent a major shift in European security and come in the wake of a significant strengthening of the US presence on the European continent since the Russian invasion.
AFP
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