All 30 NATO countries sign accession protocols with Finland and Sweden

The 30 ambassadors of NATO countries signed the accession protocols of Finland and Sweden in Brussels on Tuesday, a key step towards NATO membership, although they will not become full members until the accession process is completed.

The signing took place in the presence of Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, NATO said in a statement.

Before the signing of the protocols, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that with Finland and Sweden joining the Alliance "we will be even stronger and our people even more secure as we face the biggest security crisis in decades", referring to the war in Ukraine.

He stressed that Tuesday's is "truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO, and for our shared security".

"NATO's door remains open for European democracies that are ready and willing to contribute to our shared security," he said.

The politician also acknowledged today the "security concerns" Turkey raised that "needed to be addressed", which was done during weeks of negotiations.

"We did what we always do in NATO. We found common ground," he said.

The war in Ukraine has led traditionally neutral Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership, a process that has proved more complex than expected after Turkey blocked the two states' accession on the grounds that they are lax in dealing with organisations that Ankara describes as terrorists.

However, Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki reached a deal on Tuesday lifting Turkey's veto, clearing the way for the two Nordic states to become members of the transatlantic organisation.

Indeed, following the trilateral agreement reached between Ankara, Stockholm and Helsinki in Madrid, Allied leaders at last week's summit agreed to invite Finland and Sweden to join NATO.

Yesterday, the two Nordic countries completed accession negotiations at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and today the two states' membership protocols are being signed by the ambassadors of NATO's 30 current members.

Once the accession protocols have been signed, they must be ratified at the national level in all 30 countries of the transatlantic organisation.

NATO's principle of collective defence, whereby an attack on one ally is tantamount to an attack on all of them and a joint response must be made, will only apply to Finland and Sweden once they have become full members of the Alliance, once the entire accession process has been completed.