BRUSSELS, May 18. /TASS/. Finnish ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen and his Swedish counterpart Axel Vernhoff officially handed over their countries’ NATO membership applications to the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday. The ceremony was broadcast online by the alliance's press office.
"I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. The applications you have made today are a historic step. The applications you have made today are an historic step. Allies will now consider the next steps on your path to NATO. The security interests of all Allies have to be taken into account. And we are determined to work through all issues and reach rapid conclusions," he said.
Stoltenberg added that the alliance is now adapting its security system in the Baltic Sea. "NATO is already vigilant in the Baltic Sea region, and NATO and Allies’ forces will continue to adapt as necessary," he said. "All Allies agree on the importance of NATO enlargement. We all agree that we must stand together. And we all agree that this is an historic moment, which we must seize," the secretary general pointed out.
Finland's parliament on Tuesday backed the country's bid to join NATO, with 188 lawmakers voting in favor and eight opposed to applying for membership in the organization. The Swedish government supported the country’s membership in the alliance on Monday.
The NATO Secretary General had previously said that the two countries were the alliance's "closest partners" and "model democracies," and that the compatibility of their armed forces with NATO forces had been practiced in numerous joint exercises over decades. Therefore, they will be admitted under the fastest possible procedure. Of all NATO countries, only Turkey objects to the admission of Sweden and Finland, which, in particular, demands that Stockholm and Helsinki give up their support for the Kurdish structures in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, which Ankara considers terrorist, and lift the unilateral embargo on arms sales to Turkey.
If these objections can be ruled out, the alliance intends to announce Sweden's and Finland's acceptance at the June 28-30 summit in Madrid.
Russian stance
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned at the May 16 summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in the Kremlin about Moscow's response to the expansion of NATO military infrastructure on the territory of Finland and Sweden. The Russian leader also noted that NATO's expansion at the expense of Finland and Sweden does not pose a direct threat to Russia because Moscow has no problems with these countries.
Speaking on the phone with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Saturday, Putin called Finland's abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality a mistake, since there are no threats to Finland's security. The Kremlin press service stressed that this change in Finland's foreign policy course could have a negative impact on bilateral relations, which have for many years been based on good-neighborly relations and cooperation based on mutual benefits.