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NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed that Finland and Sweden are formally invited to join his military alliance.
The way was opened for the two Nordic countries after an announcement yesterday that they would have reached a security agreement with Turkey – the only country in the alliance that was proving resistant.
The duo made their applications to join last month. Stoltenberg calls this “the fastest membership process ever” and says he expects rapid progress to continue.
He says the 30 NATO member states must now individually ratify the demands of Finland and Sweden in their parliaments.
Both applicants are expected to demonstrate that they meet NATO standards in politics and law and in their armed forces. It is thought that this next step will be relatively straightforward for two functioning democracies with strong armies.
NATO officials have previously said the process could take “several weeks” – much sooner than previously seen.
A German official was quoted as saying earlier that “there is no concrete timeline, but it will be fast.”
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