Finland, Sweden need to move now on NATO while Putin is preoccupied with Ukraine, former secretary general says

Finland, Sweden need to move now on NATO while Putin is preoccupied with Ukraine, former secretary general says


SALZBURG, Austria — Finland and Sweden need to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) now while Russia’s Putin is focused on Ukraine, the alliance’s former chief told CNBC.

The two Nordic countries have been considering joining NATO in the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Becoming NATO members would represent a sharp U-turn in their policies towards the Kremlin after years of taking a neutral approach. Finland and Sweden are due to announce their plans in the coming days.

“As far as Finland and Sweden are concerned, I think there’s a window of opportunity for [the] two countries to join, exactly now because Putin is preoccupied elsewhere. He can’t do anything about it,” Anders Rasmussen, former NATO secretary general, told CNBC Saturday.

Russia has repeatedly stated it’s against NATO’s enlargement and it has named this as was one of the reasons for its invasion of Ukraine. 

In addition, the Kremlin has also said if Stockholm and Helsinki were to join the alliance, then it would have to “rebalance the situation.”

It is unclear how the Kremlin would react if both nations move ahead with their memberships.

However, their accession would lead to doubling the current NATO-Russia border and significantly add more military power to the alliance.

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has previously said both nations would be warmly welcomed.

But it could take “some months” before their memberships were to become official, Rasmussen told CNBC.

“Even if it’s considered an urgent procedure, and it is, it will take some months because you have to go through 30 Parliaments before it can be ratified all over NATO,” he said.

NATO currently has 30 members, including the United States.

“It will take some months and during that period both Finland and Sweden could potentially be exposed to Russian intimidation or even threats, and that’s why we have to guarantee their security,” Rasmussen said, “as if they were already members of NATO.”

These security guarantees would have to come from individual members of NATO as the alliance’s famous Article 5 — which states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack against all — would only apply to Finland and Sweden once their applications were ratified by all the 30 NATO members.

Now, it is quite clear that being a member of NATO means Article Five, and being just friends of the United States does not.

Ivan Krastev

Political Analyst

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has led to a shift in defense policy in Europe. Countries have announced a lot more spending on their military capabilities, have sent weapons to Ukraine and — in the case of Finland and Sweden — it has led to more public support for joining NATO.

“You should also understand the Swedish and the Finnish [potential] decisions was a message that there is no neutral countries on the border of Russia. And this is a new reality, even during the Cold War, it was not like this,” Ivan Krastev, a political analyst, told CNBC Friday.

“Before [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine] it was not clear what is the difference between member of NATO and just being friends of the United States. Now, it is quite clear that being a member of NATO means Article Five, and being just friends of the United States does not. And this is why Finland and Sweden should move from friends to members,” he added.



Source

Elon Musk says he doesn’t ‘want to take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing’
Politics

Elon Musk says he doesn’t ‘want to take responsibility for everything the administration’s doing’

Tesla CEO Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images President Donald Trump lauded billionaire Elon Musk on Friday as the Tesla CEO wrapped up his time in government service after four […]

Read More
Trump advisers defend tariffs amid legal fight, insisting they’re ‘not going away’
Politics

Trump advisers defend tariffs amid legal fight, insisting they’re ‘not going away’

US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on May 30, 2025. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images President Donald Trump’s top economic advisers maintained confidence on Sunday that the “tariffs are not going away,” as a key tenet of Trump’s policy agenda hangs in legal limbo. “Rest assured, […]

Read More
Trump and Xi are likely to talk soon about trade, though no date has been set, Hassett says
Politics

Trump and Xi are likely to talk soon about trade, though no date has been set, Hassett says

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett gives a TV interview outside of the White House in Washington, U.S., May 9, 2025. Leah Millis | Reuters National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett suggested on Sunday that President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping could have a conversation about trade as soon as this week. Hassett […]

Read More