[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expects the accession procedures for Finland and Sweden to be officially completed next year.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, stated in an interview with dpa news agency on the 26th (local time) that he expects Finland and Sweden to officially join NATO next year.
Secretary General Stoltenberg said, "I am fully confident that the ratification procedures of the two countries will be completed in due time," but did not specify an exact timeline.
The agency also reported that he made it clear that T?rkiye (Turkey) is not expected to delay the final approval process for the two countries' accession any longer.
Located in Northern Europe, Finland and Sweden are members of the European Union (EU) but have historically and geopolitically kept their distance from the US-led NATO. However, with rising security concerns following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, they abandoned their neutral status and simultaneously applied for NATO membership last May.
Since Finland shares a direct border with Russia, if the two countries join, the length of the NATO alliance's border with Russia will approximately double.
This background also explains analyses suggesting that Russia's attempt to block NATO's eastward expansion, which it claims is the root cause of the 'Ukraine crisis,' has backfired.
Joining the NATO alliance requires unanimous consent from all 30 member countries. In particular, each country's parliament must approve the ratification bill for all procedures to be completed. Currently, except for Hungary, which plans to complete ratification early next year, T?rkiye is the only country that has not ratified Finland and Sweden's NATO membership.
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