Canada became the first North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) country to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden, who decided to join the military alliance to protect themselves from possible Russian aggression.
“Canada has full confidence in the ability of Finland and Sweden to integrate effectively and rapidly into NATO and contribute to the collective defense of the alliance,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday. Said.
The Canadian Parliament had already approved the entry of the two Scandinavian countries in early June, so administrative action by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly was sufficient to approve the entry. “We wanted to be the first country to ratify this,” the chancellor’s spokesperson said.
The accession protocol for Finland and Sweden was signed by NATO member states on Tuesday morning, but accession still needs to be ratified by the parliaments of the other 29 members of the alliance, which could take up to a year.
Helsinki and Stockholm maintained a historic policy of military neutrality between the West and Russia, but abandoned this strategy after the invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow, on the other hand, said the entry of Scandinavian countries into NATO did not pose a threat in itself, but made it clear that its response would depend on the organization’s military presence, particularly in Finland, which shares a 1300-kilometer border. With Russia.
source: Noticias
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