NATO is about to sign accession protocols for Sweden and Finland

BRUSSELS – The 30 NATO allies will sign the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland on Tuesday and send the two nations’ accession bids to the alliance’s capitals for legislative approval.

The move will further reinforce Russia’s strategic isolation following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February and military fighting there.

The 30 ambassadors and permanent representatives are expected to officially endorse the decisions of last week’s NATO summit, when the alliance made the historic decision to invite Russia’s neighbor Finland and Scandinavian partner Sweden to join the military club.

Despite the agreement in the alliance, the parliamentary approval in the member state Turkey could still cause problems for their final acceptance as members.

Last week, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that Ankara could still block the process if the two countries respond to Turkey’s demands for the extradition of terror suspects with links to banned Kurdish groups or the network of an exiled cleric linked to a failed coup d’état of 2016 is accused of not fully complying with turkey.

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He said the Turkish parliament could refuse to ratify the deal. It’s a strong threat because joining NATO has to be formally approved by all 30 member states, giving everyone a blocking right.

The expected signing on Tuesday already brings both nations deeper into the fold of NATO. As close partners, they have already taken part in a number of meetings dealing with issues that directly affect them. As official invitees, they can attend all ambassadors’ meetings, even if they do not yet have voting rights.