EIf Helsinki and Stockholm want to join NATO, they will promptly receive a positive response, Stoltenberg said. Earlier, he stressed that the bloc respects the right of Finland and Sweden “not to seek membership in the alliance”
NATO will find a way “relatively quickly” to accept Sweden and Finland if these countries express a desire to join the bloc, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg said on CNN.
“Of course, it’s up to them, but if they apply, they will be approved by all 30 allies [in NATO],” he expressed confidence. Stoltenberg added that the alliance had a “good dialogue” with the authorities of these countries.
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Finland and Sweden have the status of NATO partner states. The block includes 30 countries, Norway and Denmark are among the Scandinavian states.
On March 31, Stoltenberg, speaking at a press conference in Brussels, said that “there are no allies that were closer to NATO than Finland and Sweden.” According to the Secretary General, the armed forces of these countries meet the standards of the alliance and if Helsinki and Stockholm send applications for membership, the bloc will take it positively. At the same time, he pointed out that NATO supports the right of each country to choose its own path, including the right of Finland and Sweden not to seek membership, as it has been for decades.
Before the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the Finnish authorities said they were ready to apply for NATO membership if the issue of national security became acute. After February 24, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that, despite the current situation, such a decision would not be made in a hurry, and it had not yet been discussed in parliament. On March 20, President Sauli Niinisto expressed the opinion that if Finland decides to join the bloc, there will be a “big risk” of escalation of tensions in Europe.
However, a few days later, Niinisto said that he had discussed with Stoltenberg the principles and procedures for accepting new members to NATO. The Head of State pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the security of the country, having studied all the possibilities for this. According to Prime Minister Marin, Finland has until the beginning of summer to make a decision on whether to apply for NATO membership or not.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde said on February 24 that the country currently does not intend to apply for membership in NATO. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson agreed with this, as, according to her, this will lead to even greater destabilization in the region.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO will have serious military and political consequences, which will entail retaliatory steps by Moscow.
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