NATO Secretary-General comments on security guarantees for Sweden, Finland

Sweden and Finland, having signed the protocol of accession to NATO, were given the opportunity to participate in the discussion of issues in the Alliance. But ratification by all 30 members of the Alliance will be lengthy.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the statement at a briefing, RBC-Ukraine reports.

According to him, the security of Finland and Sweden "is important for our North Atlantic Alliance, including in the ratification process."

"Many allies have already made clear commitments to the security of Finland and Sweden. And NATO has increased its presence in the region, including through additional exercises," he added.

"Finland and Sweden will now have an "invited" status and will participate in NATO discussions," Stoltenberg said.

As a reminder, Sweden and Finland signed a protocol on accession to NATO on July 5. The protocol means that Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have better access to intelligence, but will not be protected by NATO Article 5 on defence, according to which an attack on one ally is an attack on all before ratification. This will likely take up to a year.