US Senate ratifies Nato membership for Finland, Sweden

Bloomberg

The US Senate ratified adding Sweden and Finland to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move intended to bolster the military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The vote was 95-1, far exceeding the two-thirds majority required for the approval of treaties. If the ascension wins approval from all current members of the alliance, Finland will join Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Norway as Nato countries that share a land border with Russia.
The vote comes more than five months after Russian President Vladimir Putin shook the world order with his invasion of neighboring Ukraine. In response, Nato has moved to offer more protection to the exposed Baltic countries along the alliance’s eastern border.
“Putin is strengthening the Nato alliance and nothing shows it better than the vote,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
The vote marked a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation between the Senate leaders.
“If any senator is looking for a defensible excuse to vote no, I wish them good luck,” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the vote. “This is a slam-dunk for national security that deserves unanimous support.”
After consulting with officials from the two countries this spring the leaders dispatched a bipartisan congressional delegation to Europe in late June to build support for their inclusion at a Nato summit in Madrid.
Should they join Nato, Article 5 of the organization’s founding treaty would dictate a Russian attack on either country would be considered an attack against all member nations.
Energy and food prices have soared since Russia’s invasion, causing political instability globally. After the US and its allies bombarded Russia with sanctions, NATO now looks to reposition itself militarily to curb further Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
Only GOP Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri voted against ratification, arguing that the US should focus its foreign policy on China and keep American interests the country’s priority. Kentucky Republican Rand Paul voted present.