The UK government has said it strongly supports the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as Sweden and Finland reaffirm their intention to apply for military membership, in a historic change of post-Russian foreign policy stance – the Ukraine conflict.UK Secretary of State Liz Truss said on Monday evening the two Nordic countries should be joined by NATO, which operates in a self-defense campaign where attacks on any one partner are considered attacks on all allies.
NATO allies and ready to offer our full support
The UK strongly supports NATO membership applications from Finland and Sweden. They should be integrated into the alliance as soon as possible; their entry would strengthen the unified security of Europe, said Truss. We look forward to working with them as new NATO allies and ready to offer our full support during the entry process. Our similar security declarations signed with Sweden and Finland last week by the Prime Minister [Boris Johnson] demonstrate our strong and unwavering commitment to both countries during this process and beyond, he said.
During a visit to Stockholm and Helsinki last week, Prime Minister Johnson signed two bilateral declarations with Sweden and Finland pledging to advance security and security relations with both countries in leading to their full NATO membership. Downing Street said the announcements marked a change in defense and security measures, strengthening intelligence sharing, accelerating joint military training, exercise and deployment, and tightening security in all three countries and northern Europe.
Military alliance
Sweden and Finland have been NATO allies for many years and have participated in some of the allied missions. They also make a significant contribution to security in the Baltic region, Northern Europe and the rest of the Euro-Atlantic. Although there has been little desire for full membership in the past, there is now a great deal of political consensus in countries that should be formally integrated into the military alliance. This is in response to what appears to be Russia’s outrage over Ukraine, a move that has shaken neighboring European countries.
The current 30-strong NATO membership includes the UK, the US, Canada and many European nations. Russian President Vladimir Putin sees the union’s expansion as a security threat and warns of “consequences”. Putin once told Finland that it would be “a mistake” to join NATO, which was founded in 1949 to fight the threat from the Soviet Union.He also cited Ukraine’s intention to join the coalition as one of the reasons for the ongoing conflict.Sweden has been historically neutral since World War II and Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has never been far from avoiding hating Putin.
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