Sweden due to announce if it is applying to join NATO – as Germany says it has taken steps to speed up process
Officials in Sweden are expected to announce a decision later on whether to apply to join NATO.
The military alliance means its members will defend each other if any one of them is attacked.
Russia sees the expansion of the organisation as a threat – but other countries, including Finland, have been looking at signing up since Moscow decided to invade Ukraine.
Earlier today, Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said the country has taken all
preparations for a quick ratification process should Finland and
Sweden decide to apply for NATO membership.
She was speaking to reporters during the second day of talks with her
NATO counterparts in Berlin.
She added that ministers had agreed at
a dinner on Saturday that there should not be a grey zone between
the time Sweden and Finland apply and the time they join.
