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NATO headquarters in Brussels
Photo: Olivier Matthys / picture alliance/dpa/AP
The accession documents have been submitted: Sweden and Finland have officially applied for NATO membership.
Ambassadors of the two countries handed over the relevant papers to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the morning at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
"This is a historic moment at a critical time for our security," Stoltenberg said.
He welcomed the applications for membership from Sweden and Finland.
"You are our closest allies," said the Secretary-General.
The reason for Sweden and Finland's desire to join the military alliance are security concerns that arose in the countries in the wake of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Until then, both states had resolutely pursued a policy of military non-alignment.
The NATO Council will now deal with the applications for membership.
It is made up of representatives of the 30 alliance states, which must unanimously agree to the accession.
However, that could prove difficult, as Turkey recently announced resistance to expansion in the far north.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan explained his stance by allegedly supporting Finland and Sweden for the banned Kurdish Workers' Party PKK and the Kurdish militia YPG in Syria.
In the course of this he called both states to behave like a "guest house for terrorist organizations".
Turkey is expected to expect concessions on arms deals in return for abandoning its veto.
The government in Ankara wants to buy F-16 fighter jets in the USA – but such a deal has recently been politically controversial in Washington.
fek/dpa/Reuters/AFP