Pentagon Urges Finland and Sweden to Accelerate NATO Membership Process

Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin has called on NATO member countries to quickly ratify the documents regarding Finland and Sweden’s accession to the alliance. He made this statement at a press conference following the NATO defense ministers meeting.

On May 18, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership, and on July 5, the accession protocols were signed at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

To date, 28 of the 30 participating countries have ratified the accession of both countries to NATO, with the exceptions of Turkey and Hungary. Turkey previously agreed not to obstruct the process on the condition that Sweden and Finland lift their arms embargo on Ankara, cooperate in combating terrorism, and extradite suspects to Turkey. Ankara has promised that it will not ratify the protocols until its demands are met.