Pekka Haavisto and Ann Linde, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Sweden and Finland, signed the accession protocols for the countries to join NATO.

AFP reports about this.

After the signing of the protocol, the process of ratifying the membership of both countries in the North Atlantic Alliance has been launched.

This was announced by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. He also added that the doors of the Alliance remain open “for the European democracies that are ready and willing to contribute to common security.”

#BREAKING NATO launches ratification process for Sweden, Finland membership: Stoltenberg pic.twitter.com/t9ryxvy55y

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) July 5, 2022

As previously reported, at the Madrid NATO Summit, Sweden and Finland were formally invited to join NATO. The countries submitted their applications to join the North Atlantic Alliance in May.

Türkiye had been opposing their accession to the Alliance and demanded that Sweden, in particular, would provide “concrete guarantees” following the “collective security principle” of the North Atlantic Alliance. This regarded stopping the “political, military, and financial support for terrorist organizations.” This concerned the support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK / PYD).

However, on the sidelines of the Summit, the countries signed the trilateral memorandum between Türkiye, Finland, and Sweden to that effect. Their joint memorandum underscores the commitment of the countries to extend their full support against threats to each other’s security. This unblocked the process of Sweden and Finland joining NATO.