Recently, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) made a surprising move: Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats, the organization extended a formal membership offering to Finland and Sweden.
In a press release, NATO asserted, “we reaffirm our commitment to NATO’s Open Door Policy.”
“Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols,” NATO continued, “in any accession to the alliance, it is of [critical] importance that the legitimate security concerns of all [members] are properly addressed.”
NATO was undoubtedly referring to the longstanding concerns of Turkey, which raised objections to the membership of Finland and Sweden due to both nations’ harboring of Kurdish populations suspected of being associated with terrorist groups in Turkey.
However, an agreement was reached between the powers during a recent summit in Madrid, Spain, which NATO also elaborated upon in its press release.
“We welcome the conclusion of the trilateral memorandum between Turkey, Finland, and Sweden to that effect,” NATO continued, noting that the addition of both Finland and Sweden will experience greater security under the umbrella of the alliance.
NATO traces its origins to shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War, with the political and military alliance being founded in April 1949, or during the earliest days of the Cold War.
Of all the articles underpinning NATO, one of the most important, as well as immediately relevant, includes Article 5.
Per this article, an attack on any of the nations within the NATO alliance could be considered an attack on all its members.
Initially started as an alliance of twelve nations, NATO has expanded to include thirty nations.
Russia has long warned against NATO’s expansion, noting that “the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response.”
On its part, NATO “[condemns] Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms.”
