WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2022) The United States has handed over to NATO its formal ratification of Finland's and Sweden's applications for membership to the military alliance in the final step needed to officialize Washington's approval, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday.
"Today, I deposited the US Instruments of Ratification with the Depositary for the North Atlantic Treaty, as the last step in the US ratification process for Finland and Sweden to join NATO," Blinken said via social media.
The US Congress and President Joe Biden approved the ratification earlier this month, but several other NATO members states still have to approve Finland and Sweden's membership.
Consideration of Finland's and Sweden's bids to join NATO was initially blocked by Turkey over concerns about their support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.
However, an agreement was reached in June during the NATO summit in Madrid to unblock Finland and Sweden's pathway to accession in exchange for increased collaboration on counterterrorism efforts, including against the PKK.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia will closely follow any actions taken by Finland and Sweden following their possible accession to NATO. In addition, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia will provide a "mirror response" to threats emerging from the two countries' membership in NATO.
