Finland and Sweden handed in their NATO applications at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday morning.
“This is a good day at a critical time for our security,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said when he received the applications from Sweden’s NATO Ambassador Axel Wernhoff and his Finnish colleague Klaus Korhonen.
They handed over the applications during a simple ceremony at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
NATO sources have previously said that there will be a meeting for all NATO ambassadors immediately afterward.
Sweden and Finland already work closely with NATO, which makes it easier for them to become members. Nevertheless, Turkey’s position is an element of uncertainty. Turkish authorities have sent divisive signals, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be wrong to include Sweden and Finland in the Alliance.
In any case, the process will take some time. In a couple of weeks, it is expected that the countries will have the status of “invited members.”
After that, the new members must be approved by the National Assemblies of all 30 current NATO countries.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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And it appears Turkey will block their membership.
Meanwhile, rather more seriously, 11 worried Republican U.S. senators were unable to block a $20 BILLION appropriation to send weapons and other aid to Ukraine, where the war otherwise seems to have stabilized which could have instead been an opportunity for good faith negotiation on both sides.
Apparently in reaction, on the Russian government’s Russia Today, this warning article appeared, quoting Putin’s personal spokesman Dmitry Peskov: “West conducting war against Russia – Kremlin
Western powers opposing Russia in Ukraine could be considered enemies waging a war against the state, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. He pointed out that economic sanctions, the arming of Ukrainian nationalists, and giving them intel to attack Russian troops all amounted to acts of war.”
So the Russians, anyway, are casting aside all pretenses about us/NATO now being at war against them.
As well, there is the 27Apr22 Moscow Times report by quite astonishingly objective authors Soldatov and Borogan that Putin has gotten severe criticism by senior Russian national security leaders for not waging TOTAL war – the implication of that being clear.
(These two are in the November 2020 video “How Putin uses Russians abroad: The Compatriots: Emigres, Exiles, and Agents Abroad.” Why are they still alive? Probably because of their many including high level Russian military national security contacts.)
So I again ask readers to carefully consider my Yahoo! News column “Lou Coatney: Russia now left with no choice but nuclear war.”
Meanwhile, back at the ranch: REAL civil defense?? EKTE sivilforsvars??
Or the video could be the Kremlin doubting the loyalty of most all overseas Russians anyway and throwing them under (the bus of) Western security services’ suspicion.