US Senate Ratifies NATO Membership for Finland and Sweden
- Vote is the first to expand NATO since North Macedonia in 2020
- Turkey threatens to pose roadblock to the countries’ ascension
Chuck Schumer, right, meets with Karin Olofsdotter, Sweden’s ambassador to the US, center, and Päivi Nevala, minister counselor of the Finnish Embassy, in Washington D.C. on Aug. 3.
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The US Senate ratified adding Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move intended to bolster the military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The vote was 95-1, far exceeding the two-thirds majority required for the approval of treaties. If the ascension wins approval from all current members of the alliance, Finland will join Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Norway as NATO countries that share a land border with Russia.