NATO formally invites Finland, Sweden after Turkey drops opposition

NATO leaders.
(Image credit: TUR Presidency/ Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The NATO military alliance on Wednesday formally invited Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after Turkey on Tuesday agreed to drop its opposition to the countries' prospective membership.

Such a "historic expansion" of the alliance is surely a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, CNN writes, which is colored in part by fears of NATO's eastward enlargement.

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Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.