Shortly after 08 o'clock on Wednesday morning, Sweden's NATO Ambassador Axel Wernhoff and his Finnish colleague Klaus Korhonen submitted the application letters to NATO signed by the countries' foreign ministers. 

The handover took place at the military alliance's headquarters in Haren in northeastern Brussels. 

"This is a good day at a critical moment for our security," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

He thanked the countries for the applications.

- I warmly welcome Sweden's and Finland's request to join NATO.

Turkey stops the process

However, the applications must be approved by NATO's 30 member countries and it is already known that Turkey opposes Sweden's application.

On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

- The United States is of course extremely interested in bringing us, the countries in the Baltic Sea region, said SVT's former foreign reporter Eva Elmsäter in the Morning Studio. 

From the beginning, it was said that the first phase of the process would go very quickly, with a decision on an invitation from NATO the same day.

But Turkey's hesitation towards Sweden and Finland is already having consequences.

All Member States must approve

According to a NATO source, no decision is expected today from the NATO countries' ambassadors to initiate the application process.

Instead, it may take until the beginning of next week.

If Sweden's and Finland's application protocols are signed, the countries will have the status of "invited member" with the right to participate in all NATO meetings, but without the right to vote.

The minutes are then sent to the 30 Member States for final approval in each country's parliament.

It normally takes at least six months, but is expected to be able to go faster due to the security situation.

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Here are three NATO issues that do not have a clear answer and are still being discussed.

Photo: SVT / TT