NATO approves Sweden, Finland, but Turkey could block

Ambassadors for NATO's 30 member nations Tuesday formally signed accession protocols for Sweden and Finland’s membership. Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, said the members approved it in record time. Now it is up to the governments of each member nation to ratify the agreement. Each country has a different process so it is unclear when Sweden and Finland will be accepted into NATO, but it could take months. 

Is Turkey still on board? Turkey’s president warned that the country could still block Sweden and Finland’s membership if the countries do not extradite people it suspects of terrorism. The three countries reached an agreement at the Madrid summit last week but there was no list regarding whom they had to extradite. Sweden said it intends to honor the agreement. 

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column for WORLD Opinions on how Russia’s invasion is reshaping the geopolitical order.