A group of American congressmen pointed out to US President Joe Biden the need to admit Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Alliance as soon as possible. The collective letter was sent to the office of the head of state on Tuesday, May 24.
“We call on the administration and the United States Senate to work with each other, as well as with our NATO allies, to immediately expedite the process of approving accession protocols that will allow Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO,” the statement said, the text is available to RT.
The need for an urgent solution to this issue is due to the alleged increase in aggression on the part of Moscow. The drafters of the appeal mentioned cyber attacks on Finnish government websites, as well as the appearance of Russian aircraft in the sovereign airspace of both states. However, evidence of these events was not provided.
In turn, members of Congress pledged to fully support the United States “in providing mutual security guarantees to the governments of Sweden and Finland.”
Earlier, on May 23, the Finnish parliament suggested that the procedure for joining NATO would drag on until December. In particular, contradictions with Turkey, which will not agree to ratify the applications in a short time, may become a deterrent. Meanwhile, the formal admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO requires approval from all 30 members of the alliance.
On May 18, Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO. The ambassadors of the two countries handed them over to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at headquarters in Brussels.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted critically to the statement by the authorities of Finland and Sweden about plans to join the alliance, noting that in this way the security of these countries would not be ensured. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 16 during the anniversary summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization noted that the expansion of NATO is artificial.