Flags of NATO member states outside the bloc's headquarters in Brussels. File photo PRAGUE, May 14. The Czech Republic fully supports the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, Jan Lipavsky, head of the Czech diplomatic mission, told reporters on Saturday after arriving at an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. «We warmly welcome Finland and Sweden, and we support their interest in joining (NATO), we consider them friends. And this is the position that I will inform my colleagues about,» Lipavsky said.
The United States expressed support for Sweden and Finland to join NATO. At the same time, he recalled that there is still a long way to expand the alliance through these two countries. «But we still need to reach a political agreement. Once we have it, then the question of ratification in national parliaments,” said the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry. According to Lipavsky, the main topic of the two-day meeting of the foreign ministers will be military operations in Ukraine. The first discussion will take place on Saturday, during a working dinner. At the same time, he stressed that the priority for NATO now is the protection of its eastern borders. Finland and Sweden started talking about the possibility of abandoning many years of neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that the alliance would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to quickly join. NATO expects these countries to make their own decisions about possible membership in the coming «months and weeks,» US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia.
