US leader says Finland & Sweden 'ought to' join NATO if ready amid Russia-Ukraine war

Sweden and Finland "ought to join NATO" as early as Wednesday if they are ready and willing, US Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday. Addressing media reporters in Washington, the Republic leader asserted that the White House should sign both the Scandinavian states at the earliest if they are ready for the same. His statement came as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its seventh day on Wednesday, March 2. 

"Sweden and Finland, two countries that have never belonged to NATO, are thinking about joining, and I think we ought to sign them up tomorrow if they're ready to join," McConnell said during a news conference on Tuesday.

Last week, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg had invited Sweden and Finland to attend a virtual summit on the situation in and around Ukraine. Hours later, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that her country would join the North Atlantic Alliance if the situation of national security becomes "acute". Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that it was the country which "itself and independently" decides on security policy line, underscoring that it would be Stockholm's decision whether to join NATO or not.

Russia retaliates to the move 

However, the invitation triggered aversive reactions from Russia. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened, “serious military-political consequences” for the two countries if they joined the alliance. Kremlin-backed its stance by calling it a move by the US to "drag" Sweden and Finland into NATO. Notably, the relationship between the West and Russia has hit rock bottom since the latter's attack on Ukraine. 

Hours before launching the attack on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the war, asserting that his country could no longer feel "safe, develop and exist" because of what he claimed was a constant threat from modern Ukraine. As Russian troops inch closer to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, residents fleeing the conflict have rushed on the country’s borders with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova.

(Image: Twitter/C-SPAN)