Sweden and Finland have officially applied for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

This afternoon, two countries at once, Sweden and Finland, officially applied for consideration of their membership in NATO. Applications for NATO membership are expected to be considered within the next two months, however, Turkey and Croatia create serious obstacles to the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO.

According to the information and news agency Avia.pro, NATO has received applications from two countries, and it is planned to start considering them in the near future. However, according to media reports, Turkey requires in exchange for approving the application, the lifting of sanctions for the purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems and the return to the F-35 fighter program, although this has not been officially confirmed in Ankara. Croatia, on the other hand, requires NATO to consider internal political issues in NATO in its own interests, in connection with which the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO is an open question.

Earlier, the Russian side stated that the appearance of Finland and Sweden in NATO is unacceptable and poses a threat. This, given the current situation, threatens to seriously complicate relations between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance.