Sen. Coons joins bipartisan congressional delegation to NATO Summit as path clears for Finland & Sweden's accession

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate NATO Observer Group, joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) in a joint statement reacting to the announcement that Turkey will drop its hold on Finland's and Sweden's application to join the transatlantic Alliance. The senators are currently on a delegation participating in the NATO summit in Madrid. The delegation previously stopped in Finland and Sweden to meet with heads of state and partake in other bilateral meetings with the respective nations' administration officials.

"It is important that all NATO Allies work together to accelerate Finland and Sweden's accession into NATO, which is why we are very encouraged that an agreement was reached that will allow their applications to advance," said the lawmakers. "Finland and Sweden's contributions to the Alliance will strengthen our response to an emboldened and revisionist Vladimir Putin. We appreciate the Secretary General and U.S. and allied officials working diligently with President Erdogan and Finland and Sweden's leadership to reach this moment. Our bilateral and multilateral meetings with NATO member states and NATO aspirant nations have been productive, and we look forward to sharing that progress with fellow lawmakers upon our return to the United States to increase U.S. support for NATO and push for a swift approval process in the Senate for Finland and Sweden. For more than seventy years, NATO has upheld transatlantic security. That mission endures, and with the inclusion of Finland and Sweden, we are best positioned to rebuke Putin's aggression that is targeting Ukraine and threatening democracies worldwide."

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