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Added on the 09/12/2022 12:42:37 - Copyright : Euronews EN
"NATO becomes stronger, Finland becomes safer" says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as Finland becomes the newest memeber of the military alliance. SOUNDBITE
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US would "strongly support" a NATO application by Sweden or Finland. "The United states would strongly support the NATO application by either Sweden or Finland should they choose to formally apply to the alliance," Blinken tells reporters after NATO foreign ministers met in Berlin. SOUNDBITE of Antony Blinken
The NATO flag is hoisted at a military base in the Swedish capital Stockholm, symbolising the Nordic country's accession into the military alliance. On 7 March 2024, Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO in the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment. IMAGES
Sweden joining NATO shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening the alliance, its chief Jens Stoltenberg says. The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defence umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg adds. SOUNDBITE
Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson says the "northern flank of NATO is more complete" as he holds a press conference with his Norwegian and Finnish counterparts in Troms, Norway. Swedish troops are taking part in a vast NATO military exercise to simulate repelling an invasion of neighbouring Norway. SOUNDBITE
Sweden becomes the 32nd member of NATO with the handover of documents at a ceremony in Washington, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Good things come to those who wait," Secretary of State Antony Blinken says as he accepts the accession documents from Sweden's prime minister, following ratification by the 31 other alliance members. SOUNDBITE