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Stoltenberg: Finland and Sweden Could Join NATO Quickly

Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
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Stoltenberg: Finland and Sweden Could Join NATO Quickly

Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Flags are seen ahead of a NATO Defense Ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 21, 2021. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol

Finland and Sweden will be able to join NATO quickly should they decide to ask for membership in the Western military alliance, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

"If they decide to apply, Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed and I expect the process to go quickly," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels, adding he planned to speak with the Finnish president later in the day.

According to Reuters, he said he was sure arrangements could be found for the interim period between an application by the two Scandinavian countries and the formal ratification in the parliaments of all 30 NATO members.

"I am confident that there are ways to bridge that interim period in a way which is good enough and works for both Finland and Sweden," Stoltenberg said.

Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,300-km (border, has said it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad if Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO.

Finland and Sweden must prepare for increased Russian spy operations, cyber attacks and attempts to influence lawmakers as they consider joining NATO after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the Nordic nations' intelligence chiefs said on Wednesday.

Russia's invasion, which it calls a "special operation", has forced Sweden and Finland to reassess their longstanding military neutrality, and they are expected to announce in May whether they will join the alliance.

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Iran: Partnership Pact with Russia Doesn’t Include Defense Clause

Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
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Iran: Partnership Pact with Russia Doesn’t Include Defense Clause

Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP
Tehran and Moscow have boosted their military and political cooperation in recent years. Maxim Shemetov / POOL/AFP

Russia and Iran will sign a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty on Friday during a visit to Moscow by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, cementing ties between two of the world's most heavily sanctioned countries.
The agreement comes just three days before Iran-hawk Donald Trump enters the White House and as Moscow and Tehran seek to formalize their close relationship after years of deepening cooperation, said AFP.
Iran has supplied Russia with self-detonating "Shahed" drones that Moscow fires on Ukraine in nightly barrages, according to Ukrainian and Western officials, while both nations have ramped up trade amid Western sanctions.
The new treaty will strengthen Tehran and Moscow's "military-political and trade-economic" relations, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, without providing further detail.
Tehran has given little information about Friday's pact, but ruled out a mutual defense clause like the one included in Russia's treaty with North Korea last year, Russian state media reported, citing Tehran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi.
The two sides had been working on a new treaty for years, with their current relationship governed by a 2001 agreement that they have renewed periodically.
'Global hegemony'
Russia says its upcoming pact with Iran and the already-signed treaty with Pyongyang are "not directed against any country".
"The treaty ... is constructive in nature and is aimed at strengthening the capabilities of Russia, Iran, and our friends in various parts of the world," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.
It is set to be valid for 20 years, Russia's TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Iranian ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has made building ties with Iran, China and North Korea a cornerstone of his foreign policy as he seeks to challenge what he calls as US-led "global hegemony".
Both Russia and Iran are under heavy Western sanctions that include restrictions on their vital energy industries.
At a summit of the BRICS group in Kazan last year, Putin told Pezeshkian he valued "truly friendly and constructive ties" between Russia and Iran.
Pezeshkian's visit to Russia comes just days before Trump returns to power.
The US president-elect, who has made repeated military threats against Iran, is seeking a rapid end to the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The agreement comes a month after a rebel offensive overthrew Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad -- who was heavily supported by both Moscow and Tehran -- and as Israel and Iran's ally Hamas gear up for a ceasefire in Gaza.