Sen. Coons on Senate vote to add Sweden and Finland to NATO

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement after the Senate voted to ratify the treaty to add Sweden and Finland to NATO.

"For years, we have asked European nations to step up their commitments to protect against the global threats we face together. Today, we voted for Finland and Sweden to do just that as they join the NATO alliance and bring more power and strength to our collective defense."

"This February, days before Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, I traveled to Eastern Europe as part of a bipartisan congressional delegation. While in Lithuania, we visited NATO troops at Camp Herkus where I shared a meal with Private First Class Elijah Williams, a soldier and Delaware native stationed there. Meeting American soldiers like Pfc. Williams reminds me every day of the stakes of Russia's invasion and the American lives being put at risk by Putin's war. =

"With strong economies and experienced militaries, Sweden and Finland will strengthen the NATO alliance. In so doing, they will not only make America safer but will also make it less likely that the countless Delawareans like Pfc. Williams serving overseas will be pulled into this fight. I am proud to join my colleagues and vote to welcome these vital new partners to a NATO alliance that is stronger and more unified as ever."

Senator Coons, a member of the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate earlier this summer in support of this measure, and joined colleagues in a visit to Sweden, Finland, and the NATO summit in Madrid in June.

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