The Senate voted 95 to 1 in favor of ratifying the accession documents, easily exceeding the two-thirds majority of 67 votes needed to support ratification of the two countries’ accession documents. “This historic vote sends an important message about America’s continued, bipartisan commitment to NATO and to ensuring our Alliance is ready to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in response to the February 24 invasion. Russia has repeatedly warned both countries against joining the alliance. NATO’s 30 allies signed the accession protocol for them last month, allowing them to join the US-led nuclear-armed alliance once its members ratify the decision. read more At that point, Helsinki and Stockholm were able to participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to information, but were not protected by Article 5, NATO’s defense clause that states an attack on one ally is an attack on all . Accession must be ratified by the parliaments of all 30 North Atlantic Treaty Organization members before Finland and Sweden are protected by the defense clause. Validation can take up to a year, although it has already been approved by a few countries, including Canada, Germany and Italy. Senators from both parties strongly supported the two countries’ membership, describing them as important allies whose modern soldiers already worked closely with NATO. “The qualifications of these two prosperous, democratic nations are outstanding and will serve to strengthen the NATO alliance,” Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in urging support before the vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer invited the ambassadors and other diplomats from Finland and Sweden to the Senate to watch the vote. Republican Sen. Josh Hawley was the only abstention. Republican Senator Rand Paul was present and voted. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Patricia Zengerle. additional reporting by Rose Horowitch and Jarrett Renshaw. Edited by Grant McCool Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
