(Washington) The US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday approved almost unanimously elected officials from both parties a resolution to ratify the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland, a process initiated after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Posted at 5:18 p.m.
The 30 countries of the Atlantic alliance must all ratify the accession of the two Nordic countries, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again threatened on Monday to “freeze” the process despite an agreement in principle at the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of June.
After the vote in committee, the Senate is also expected to give the green light in the coming weeks.
The chairman of this commission, the Democrat Bob Menendez, considered that the arrival of Sweden and Finland in NATO would be “without a doubt one of the most important diplomatic successes of recent years”.
“The future of the transatlantic partnership will be even more intertwined and consolidated thanks to the recklessness of (Vladimir) Putin,” he added in a statement.
Article 5 of the treaty of the North Atlantic alliance, founded in 1949 at the start of the Cold War, triggers a common response in the event of an attack against one of the members.
Sweden and Finland, which had always been careful not to join NATO so as not to attract the wrath of neighboring Russia, presented their candidacies after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine by Moscow.
John Kirby, who coordinates President Joe Biden’s communication on strategic issues, said the Finnish and Swedish armed forces have “incredibly modern means”.
“We urge Congress to act as quickly as possible,” he added.