The Swedish and Finnish ambassadors have formally submitted their NATO applications to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in an online video ceremony on Wednesday in Brussels, transmits MIA.
Accepting the applications at NATO headquarters, Stoltenberg said the move was a “historic step” in a “critical moment” for European security against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The NATO chief said the alliance would assess the membership bid as quickly as possible, but the security interests of all allies “have to be taken into account.”
He was referring to recent objections from Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he could not agree to the accession of two countries that sanctioned his country and repeated allegations that both nations support “terrorist organizations,” a reference to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Kurdish militia People’s Defense Units (YPG) in Syria.
