'Historic moment': Finland and Sweden move closer to NATO membership
Finland and Sweden are a step closer to joining the NATO military alliance.
Both countries, who decided to apply for membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had their bids approved at a summit last week.
The next step, however, is to get their accession ratified by the parliaments of NATO member countries.
On Tuesday, that process officially began when NATO's 30 allies signed an accession protocol. It means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the NATO defence clause -- that an attack on one ally is an attack against all -- until ratification. That is likely to take up to a year.
“This is truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO,” said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
"With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger ... at a time when we are facing the most serious security crisis in decades".
The formal approval comes after NATO's 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives approved Finland and Sweden's accession at last week's summit.
It also allows Finnish and Swedish representatives to attend all NATO meetings, even if they do not yet have voting rights, or are protected by the alliance's defence clause.
The last hurdle for the two countries could be receiving parliamentary approval from Turkey. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right.
Last week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could still block the accession process if Finland and Sweden fail to fully meet Turkey’s demand.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could block the process if the two countries failed to grant Turkey’s demands for
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