The United States senate has voted unanimously to allow Finland and Sweden gain membership status in the defensive alliance of the North Atlantic Treaty Orgainztion (NATO). The two countries in Northern Europe which have always maintained a non-alignment policy had in May, decided to join the military organization due to threats posed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In June, after the NATO Summit in Madrid Spain, Finland and Sweden’s quest was formalized by member states, a process that must go to the Senate of member state for approvals. The US Senate voted 95 to 1 to ratify the request of both countries.
The US Senate majority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, who invited the Ambassadors of the two countries to observe the process said, “Finland’s and Sweden’s membership will strengthen NATO even further, and is all the more urgent, given Russian aggression, given Putin’s immoral and unjustified war in Ukraine.”
The United State president, Joe Biden, who was glad at the landslide approval, said: “This historic vote sends an important signal of the sustained, bipartisan U.S. commitment to NATO, and to ensuring our Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
“I look forward to signing the accession protocols and welcoming Sweden and Finland, two strong democracies with highly capable militaries, into the greatest defensive alliance in history,” the president added.