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Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: NATO is also an open-door alliance
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Because of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the NATO foreign ministers have come together for their first informal meeting in the history of the defense alliance.
"NATO is an alliance that focuses on defense, and it will remain so, but it is also an open-door alliance," said Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the beginning of the meeting in Berlin.
Addressing Finland and Sweden, Baerbock added: "Welcome!"
Finland and neighboring Sweden are already close NATO partners, but are not official members of the military alliance.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered a rethink on membership in both countries.
Baerbock: Everything prepared for a quick ratification process
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has promised Germany's quick approval of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
If both countries decide to join NATO, it is very important to her that "at this special moment, which is really historic for these states, we shouldn't experience a deadlock," said the Greens politician when she arrived at the meeting of the 30 NATO foreign ministers Berlin.
"That's why we as the Federal Republic, that's why we as the Federal Government have prepared everything for a very, very fast ratification process."
This step would take place after the completion of the internal NATO process for the admission of the two Nordic countries - in Germany, the approval of the Bundestag is required for ratification.
Baerbock said the federal government had already spoken to all democratic parties in parliament.
However, the governments in Helsinki and Stockholm are concerned about the security situation in their countries in the period between the application for membership and the completion of accession.
In this phase, the obligation to provide assistance according to Article 5 of the NATO treaty is not yet officially in force.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu expressed objections to the admission of both countries on Saturday.
Finland and Sweden support "terrorist organizations" such as the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK and the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria, he said in justification.
ani/dpa/Reuters
