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President Biden will sign documents on Tuesday in support of Sweden and Finland’s entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
“I look forward to signing the accession protocols and welcoming Sweden and Finland, two strong democracies with highly capable armed forces, into the largest defensive alliance in history,” Biden said in a statement last week after the Senate. overwhelmingly approved their membership.
The accession of Finland and Sweden will be the first significant expansion of the alliance since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Their acceptance into the bloc marks a rebuke to Russia in the midst of its continued invasion of Ukraine.
The Senate approved the move in a rare show of bipartisan support, voting 95-1 last week in favor of the expansion. Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Was the only senator to vote against the measure, arguing that he would divert attention from China, which he sees as America’s main geopolitical enemy.
NATO MAKES THE RIGHT CALL TO SWEDEN, FINLAND WITH A BIG, BOLD MASS
President Joe Biden holds a press conference.
(Fox News)
“We can do more in Europe … devote more resources, more firepower … or do what we need to do to discourage Asia and China. We can’t do both,” Hawley said, according to L ‘Associated Press.
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell welcomed the news, arguing the move would bolster national security.
“Their membership will make NATO stronger and America safer. If any senators are looking for a defensible excuse to vote no, I wish them luck,” McConnell said.
The call from Finland and Sweden to join NATO came in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, with joining the alliance strongly opposed by the Kremlin.
Left to right in the background: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde sign a memorandum in which Turkey accepts the accession of Finland and Sweden to the defense alliance in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday, June 28, 2022.
(Photo AP / Bernat Armangue)
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The current 30 NATO member states signed the Accession Protocol for the two countries last month, clearing the way for members to formally ratify their membership.
All 30 current NATO members must ratify the decision to allow Finland and Sweden to join before they can be protected by article five of the NATO Charter, which states that an attack on one NATO country is an attack on all. members.
Canada, Germany and Italy have already ratified the accession of the two countries.
