NATO Allies Sign Agreement Permitting Sweden, Finland to Join
2022-07-06
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1NATO's 30 members have signed an agreement that permits Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance.
2The agreement was signed Tuesday during a NATO meeting in Brussels.
3The action came after NATO representatives meeting last week in Spain officially invited Sweden and Finland to join.
4The legislatures in all alliance nations must approve the agreement before Sweden and Finland can be fully admitted into NATO.
5That process is expected to take up to a year.
6Sweden and Finland, however, will be able to take part in NATO meetings and will be given greater access to NATO intelligence information.
7NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the signing "truly a historic moment."
8He added, "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger."
9The move further separates Russia from Europe after its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February.
10Russia had repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO.
11On March 12, Russia's foreign ministry said if the move went forward, "there will be serious military and political consequences."
12Stoltenberg urged lawmakers in allied countries to quickly approve, or ratify, the agreement.
13"The security of Finland and Sweden is important for our alliance, including during the ratification process," he said.
14Experts say getting parliamentary approval in Turkey could be problematic, although Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks on the matter last week in Spain.
15Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Turkish legislators could block the process.
16The lawmakers are concerned about how Sweden and Finland will deal with Turkish demands to extradite people it considers terror suspects.
17Erdogan said this issue could lead Turkey's parliament to refuse to ratify the agreement.
18For the agreement to go into effect, all 30 member states must ratify it.
19Stoltenberg said he does not expect Turkey to reject the deal.
20"There were security concerns that needed to be addressed. And we did what we always do at NATO. We found common ground," he said.
21I'm Bryan Lynn.
1NATO's 30 members have signed an agreement that permits Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance. 2The agreement was signed Tuesday during a NATO meeting in Brussels. The action came after NATO representatives meeting last week in Spain officially invited Sweden and Finland to join. 3The legislatures in all alliance nations must approve the agreement before Sweden and Finland can be fully admitted into NATO. That process is expected to take up to a year. 4Sweden and Finland, however, will be able to take part in NATO meetings and will be given greater access to NATO intelligence information. 5NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called the signing "truly a historic moment." He added, "With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger." 6The move further separates Russia from Europe after its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February. Russia had repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO. On March 12, Russia's foreign ministry said if the move went forward, "there will be serious military and political consequences." 7Stoltenberg urged lawmakers in allied countries to quickly approve, or ratify, the agreement. "The security of Finland and Sweden is important for our alliance, including during the ratification process," he said. 8Experts say getting parliamentary approval in Turkey could be problematic, although Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks on the matter last week in Spain. 9Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Turkish legislators could block the process. The lawmakers are concerned about how Sweden and Finland will deal with Turkish demands to extradite people it considers terror suspects. 10Erdogan said this issue could lead Turkey's parliament to refuse to ratify the agreement. For the agreement to go into effect, all 30 member states must ratify it. 11Stoltenberg said he does not expect Turkey to reject the deal. "There were security concerns that needed to be addressed. And we did what we always do at NATO. We found common ground," he said. 12I'm Bryan Lynn. 13The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 14We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 15___________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17access - n. a way of getting at, near or to something 18consequence - n. the result of an action or situation 19extradite - v. to send a person who has been accused of a crime to another state or country for trial