On Thursday (05.12.2022), the United States confirmed that it supports the possibility of Sweden and Finland to join NATO, stressing that their accession to the alliance will contribute to the security of Americans.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed herself this way at her press conference, though she avoided explicit approval of the idea of eventual joining NATO for these northern nations, and said she was only referring to the possibility that they might ask. to enter.
We will respect any decision.
“The United States will support an application to join NATO from Finland and Sweden if they choose to do so. We will respect any decision they make,” Psaki said.
He added that both countries are “close and valuable defense allies” of the United States, and that strengthening NATO is in Washington’s interest.
“If they decide to join us, that is something that should give the American people peace of mind regarding our own security interests,” said a spokeswoman for the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
Historic move
Finland took a historic step towards joining NATO on Thursday, after the country’s President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin decided to support membership after decades of “nonalignment”.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and threats from the Kremlin have caused a shift in Finland’s attitude toward NATO, and all that remains is for the rest of the coalition government and the Eduskunta (Parliament) to offer their official support to formalize the membership application, something that could happen in the next few days.
Sweden is expected to follow in Finland’s footsteps later this month, and if the two join NATO, all Nordic countries will join NATO, of which Denmark, Norway and Iceland were founding members.
GC (EFE, Reuters)
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