NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said that Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join the world’s biggest military alliance.
Written by Manjiri Sachin Chitre | Edited by Sohini Goswami
US President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed the applications made by Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). Following talks with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Biden said the US government is extending “full, total, and complete backing” to the decision made by the Nordic countries.
Addressing a press conference, Biden said he is “proud to welcome and offer the strong support for the applications of two great democracies, and two close, highly capable partners to join the strongest, most powerful, defensive alliance in the history of the world.”
The US president further said the decision amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war shows that “NATO is still relevant as an alliance”. He further added that the Nordic countries “would enhance the security of the alliance”.
“They meet every NATO requirement and then some and having two new NATO members in the high north will enhance the security of our alliance and deepen our security cooperation across the board,” Biden said.
Also read: ‘Happy we’ve taken same path’: Swedish PM on country’s joint NATO bid with Finland
NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said that Finland and Sweden have officially applied to join the world’s biggest military alliance. Stoltenberg “warmly welcomed” the requests by the two countries and told the media that “this is a good day at a critical moment for our security”.
The application will be weighed by the 30 member-countries and the process is reportedly expected to take around two weeks.
The two countries have been planning to join NATO since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Meanwhile, Russia has issued several warnings over Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday said the West should not have any “illusions” that the Kremlin will simply put up with the Nordic expansion of the alliance.
(With agency inputs)
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
At least 12 killed in Russian shelling of Severodonetsk: Governor
Severodonetsk, with a pre-war population of just over 100,000 people, is a key goal of the Russian military which has made capturing the eastern Donbas region a key objective. The eastern industrial centre and its sister city Lysychansk make up the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance in the smaller of the two regions comprising the Donbas war zone.
-
Monkeypox found in US and UK: What is it and should you be worried?
A case of the rare and potentially dangerous monkeypox has been confirmed in the US after infections were reported across Europe. The infected man had recently traveled to Canada and is now receiving treatment in hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Department of Health said the case poses no risk to the public. Health officials in Canada are investigating up to 13 cases in Montreal, Radio-Canada reported.
-
Monkeypox: List of nations where this rare disease has been identified so far
Cases of monkeypox have been identified in European and American countries, giving health authorities another reason to worry about amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that is in its third year now. Health officials have stressed that the risk to the general population is low. Most human cases have been in central and west Africa, where the disease is endemic. One person in Sweden has a confirmed case of monkeypox, health authorities said.
-
Ukraine: Top US, Russian generals talk for first time since war | Key points
The fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces continues for nearly three months, with no peace in sight. On Thursday, top US and Russian generals spoke on telephone for the first time since the Ukraine invasion began. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley spoke to his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov and discussed security-related issues, AFP reported. Here are the top developments that unfolded in battleground Ukraine.
-
