US Officials Say Finland and Sweden Will Likely Join NATO in the Coming Months

 

by Kyle Anzalone | Apr 11, 2022

US officials say Finland and Sweden are poised to apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. NATO is prepared to grant the two Nordic states rapid entrance into the alliance, a move Russia views as “a tool geared towards confrontation.”

A US official told The Times that membership for Sweden and Finland was “a topic of conversation and multiple sessions” during NATO meetings last week. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is prepared to allow Helsinki and Stockholm to ascend into the alliance rapidly. 

Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic party has traditionally stood against joining NATO. However, the party is revising its security platform. “When Russia invaded Ukraine, Sweden’s security position changed fundamentally,” a statement released on Monday said. 

Finland expects to bid for NATO membership in the coming weeks. Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stub said it was “a foregone conclusion” that Helsinki will make its bid for membership by this summer. 

US officials see Finland submitting its application in June, with Sweden to follow soon after. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Helsinki and Stockholm would be “very much welcomed by all 30 allies,” even suggesting their membership could be fast-tracked. 

Over the weekend, NATO announced it would engage in a massive military buildup along its border with Russia. Stoltenberg says the alliance is making plans to station enough forces in all border nations to repel a Russian invasion. 

Adding Finland would increase the Russian-NATO border by over 800 miles. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to The Times report saying, “We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news-roundup/us-officials-say-finland-and-sweden-will-likely-join-nato-in-the-coming-months/