13:09 - 4.08.2022

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August 4, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. Senate voted to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.

ABC.AZ reports with reference to the foreign media that a minimum of 67 senators' votes were needed to obtain Senate approval.

Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional neutrality in May against the background of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine and applied to join NATO. The alliance launched the procedure for the admission of the two countries to NATO at the end of June after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdrew objections to the accession of Sweden and Finland to the bloc.

Official Ankara demanded from Helsinki and Stockholm the extradition of alleged Kurdish extremists and suspects of involvement in the 2016 coup attempt. Later, Erdogan accused Sweden of not fulfilling these promises.