Last week, the US Senate gave a resounding yes to Sweden's and Finland's NATO application.
After a three-hour long debate, basically all senators supported the expansion.
The vote numbers were written at 95-1.
On Tuesday evening, Swedish time, US President Joe Biden signed the document which means that the US has officially approved the two Nordic countries' applications.
- The United States becomes the 23rd ally to approve Sweden's and Finland's membership in the strongest and most powerful defense alliance in history, says Joe Biden at a press conference.
Congratulations Andersson
The American president states that he spoke on the phone with both Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to congratulate them.
- Sweden and Finland have strong democratic institutions, strong defense forces and strong and transparent economies.
They will make the alliance stronger, says Biden.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson also writes on Twitter that she has spoken with the US and Finnish presidents and thanks Biden for the strong support.
23 out of a total of 30 NATO countries have now approved Sweden's and Finland's applications.
Among others, Turkey, which opposed the applications for a long time, has not yet said yes.