Posted on 05/18/2022 4:53:01 AM PDT by tlozo
Finland and Sweden have officially applied for membership in the NATO military alliance, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement Wednesday at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, flanked by the ambassadors from both countries after receiving their formal application letters.
“This is a good day at a critical moment for our security,” Stoltenberg 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.”
Finland’s parliament overwhelmingly voted to join NATO earlier Wednesday before Stoltenberg’s announcement by a vote of 188-to-8.
The applications of Finland and Sweden mark a historic departure from their decades-long neutrality posture dating back to the Cold War. But Moscow’s decision to invade neighboring Ukraine on February 24 raised fears in both countries, especially in Finland, which shares a long border with Russia.
All 30 NATO member nations are expected to quickly consider the applications, a process that normally takes up to a year.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed reservations about the Baltic neighbors joining the alliance, accusing them of giving safe haven to “terrorists” and imposing sanctions on Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West that Moscow would respond if NATO bolstered its military presence in Finland and Sweden after the two Nordic countries declared Sunday they want to join the U.S.-dominated Western military alliance.
U.S. President Joe Biden will offer his personal support when he meets Thursday at the White House with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland.
https://www.donga.com/en/article/all/20220518/3389998/1
Darth Putin
@DarthPutinKGB
Day 83 of my 3 day war. Sweden will end over 200 years of neutrality to join NATO & Switzerland (da, the Swiss) Defense Ministry is increasing co-operation with the alliance.
I remain a master strategist.
Turkey should veto both.
The average Swede has no clue what they are doing. They didn't give up nuetrality even when Hitler was in power, but they are giving it up to press NATO expansion and the globalist proxy-war in Ukraine.
The force of the post-modern, globalist empire is very strong on these people.
Putin invasion has consequences beyond Ukraine.
The poll by Demoskop and commissioned by the Aftonbladet newspaper showed 57% of Swedes now favoured NATO membership, up from 51% in March. Those opposed to joining fell to 21% from 24%, while those who were undecided dipped to 22% from 25%.
The March poll was the first to show a majority of Swedes in favour of joining NATO.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/growing-majority-swedes-back-joining-nato-opinion-poll-shows-2022-04-20/
Turkey will figure out that the forms were not filled out correctly since proper Islamic procedure was not followed.
;-)
Grab the popcorn.
i’m okay with removing turky and replace with with two states with hotter women.
I am just worried that stores won’t be allowed to sell turkey at Thanksgiving after the left directs “two minutes of hate” at them.
;-)
I agree, replacing dark swarthy M.E. chicks with blue-eyed blond Nordic babes is fine with me too.
Just how much money are the European NATO countries throwing into Ukraine, by the way?
The Swiss government will sign a contract by the end of March to buy 36 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets, it said on May 18, 2022, pressing ahead without waiting for a referendum on the $5.5 billion deal.
https://nypost.com/2022/05/18/swiss-to-sign-deal-to-buy-f-35-fighters-before-referendum/
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.