The heads of government of the Baltic states have pledged their support to Finland and Sweden on their way to NATO membership. “We, the Prime Ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, fully support and welcome the historic decisions of Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership,” said Kaja Kallas (Estonia), Krisjanis Karins (Latvia) in a joint statement on Wednesday ) and Ingrida Simonyte (Lithuania). “We will do our utmost to ensure that this accession process is quick and smooth.”
Sweden and Finland had previously officially applied for NATO membership. Ambassadors from the two northern countries handed over the relevant documents to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
“Finland and Sweden share the same values that bind NATO allies together,” the three Baltic leaders continued in the statement. The accession of the two countries will increase collective security and strengthen the defense alliance, whose role has become even more important in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been part of NATO and the EU since 2004. The small Baltic Sea countries border on Russia and partly also on its ally Belarus.