Sweden and Finland took another step toward joining NATO on Tuesday after the 30-country alliance formally signed off on their membership bids and set the stage to bring the long-neutral Nordic nations into the fold within a matter of months.
NATO’s rapid decision to welcome two more members — a move driven by Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February and fears that war could spread throughout Europe — also carries a host of unanswered questions, including the financial tab that the U.S. will be expected to pick up to secure Finland’s 833-mile border with Russia. It’s also not clear when or whether Finland or Sweden would contribute troops to missions outside their borders as part of a forward-deployed NATO force in Poland, the Baltics or other areas at greatest risk of a Russian attack.
Those questions will be debated in the capitals of NATO nations over the coming weeks. All 30 countries must formally sign off on the membership approval process, though that is expected to be little more than a formality for the vast majority of countries. Denmark and Canada reportedly endorsed the moves on Tuesday, just hours after NATO offered its stamp of approval in Brussels.
The expansion effort could hit a roadblock with Turkey, which has misgivings about Sweden’s and Finland’s commitments to crack down on Kurdish rebel groups that Ankara considers to be terrorists.
NATO leaders mostly brushed aside those questions Tuesday in favor of celebrating the alliance’s most significant expansion initiative in two decades.
via joemiller