Canada is the first country to ratify the integration of Finland and Sweden into NATO on Tuesday.
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“As a close friend and security partner, Canada strongly supports Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
The latter met his counterparts from Finland and Sweden at the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain, last week.
“Canada has full confidence in the ability of Finland and Sweden to integrate quickly and effectively into NATO and contribute to the collective defense of the Alliance. We have always appreciated their close partnership with the Alliance and their valuable contributions to transatlantic security. Their membership will make NATO stronger, and we urge all NATO member countries to quickly complete their ratification process to limit the possibility of interference from adversaries,” added Mr. Trudeau.
Ratification by the other member countries of the organization should take place in the coming weeks.
In June, parliamentarians in the House of Commons voted in favor of NATO membership.
These two Nordic countries, traditionally neutral at the military level, changed their ideological course after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Denouncing NATO’s “imperial ambitions” last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin was indifferent to the two countries’ entry into NATO.
“If Finland and Sweden want it, let them join. It’s their business, they can join wherever they want,” he said, adding that it was “no problem” for Russia.
