NATO Secretary-General welcomed Finland’s application for membership
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(Washington = Yonhap News) Correspondent Ryu Ji-bok = The White House announced on the 12th (local time) that it supports Finland and Sweden’s move to join NATO.
“We will support Finland or Sweden if they apply to join NATO,” White House press secretary Jen Saki said at a press briefing.
“Both Finland and Sweden are close and valuable defense partners of the United States and NATO,” Saki said.
Finland in Northern Europe has been advocating ‘military neutrality’ by not joining NATO since the establishment of NATO in 1949 and not participating in the Warsaw Pact, which was led by the former Soviet Union.
Although Finland is a member of the European Union (EU), it has maintained a neutral status for a long time in order to maintain friendly relations with Russia, which has a border of 1,300 km.
However, following Russia’s forced annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014, discussions on NATO accession began in earnest, and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, the promotion of NATO accession gained momentum.
As a result, Finland officially applied for NATO membership following 74 years.
Finland’s neighbor, Sweden, will also apply for NATO membership on the 16th.
Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Finland’s decision and expressed support for “the joining process will be smooth and expeditious”.
NATO, established in April 1949, is a security alliance formed by the West with the United States as the main force once morest the Warsaw Pact formed by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc during the US-US Cold War.
jbryoo@yna.co.kr
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