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U.S. backs NATO membership for Sweden and Finland
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/28/russia-ukraine-war-news-putin-live-updates/https://archive.ph/85uTI
The United States will “strongly support” NATO membership for Sweden and Finland if they choose to join the military alliance, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, underscoring how Russia’s invasion of its neighbor has reverberated far beyond Ukraine.
The United States has long backed an open-door policy for NATO that allows any nation to apply for membership. But it has been more careful about spelling out what comes next, and the top U.S. diplomat’s remarks are likely to prompt an angry response from Moscow.
“The world has changed pretty dramatically, and one of the ways it has changed is in the very strong interest of both countries to become members of NATO,” Blinken told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Biden administration is also urging new aid to Ukraine, looking to provide long-range weapons expected to play a crucial role in the next phase of the war. Biden on Thursday asked Congress to approve a $33 billion spending package with military and humanitarian assistance; he also proposed escalating America’s financial war with Moscow by letting U.S. authorities liquidate the assets of Russian oligarchs and donate the proceeds to Ukraine.
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