(MENAFN- Trend News Agency)
The U.S. Senate approved on Wednesday Finland and Sweden's
accession to NATO, the most significant expansion of the 30-member
alliance since the 1990s, Trend reports citing Reuters .
The Senate voted 95 to 1 to support ratification of the two
countries' accession documents, easily surpassing the two-thirds
majority of 67 votes required to support ratification of the two
countries' accession documents.
NATO's 30 allies signed the accession protocol for them last
month, allowing them to join the U.S.-led nuclear-armed alliance
once its members ratify the decision. read more
At that point, Helsinki and Stockholm were able to participate
in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence, but were
not protected by Article Five, the NATO defense clause stating that
an attack on one ally is an attack against all.
The accession must be ratified by the parliaments of all 30
North Atlantic Treaty Organization members before Finland and
Sweden can be protected by the defense clause.
Ratification could take up to a year, although it has already
been approved by a few countries, including Canada, Germany and
Italy.
Senators from both parties strongly endorsed membership for the
two countries, describing them as important allies whose modern
militaries already worked closely with NATO.
MENAFN03082022000187011040ID1104642034
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.