Sweden has signed her application to join NATO, following the recent announcement to carry on with the move.
While talking about the development, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Ann Linde, said: “It feels very big, very serious, and it feels like we have arrived at a conclusion which is the best for Sweden. We don’t know how long it will take, but we calculate that it could take up to a year. Now, this week, this application will be submitted, together with Finland, in a day or so, and then it will be processed by NATO.”
The news came two days after the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and Prime Minister Sanna Marin formally revealed the country’s intention to join NATO.
The two countries are expected to submit their formal applications to NATO headquarters in Brussels soon and end decades of official neutrality on the part of the two countries.
The 30 current NATO member states must accept the application from Finland and Sweden, through many domestic processes like a vote by a legislature or a decision by the executive, depending on the country.
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin has announced that there is ‘no problem’ if Nordic neighbours Finland and Sweden join NATO, hours before the Foreign Minister of Sweden formally signed her nation’s application to the security bloc.
