NATO to provide security guarantees for Finland, Sweden

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (R, on the screen) gives via videolink a press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the end of an informal meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on the conflict in Ukraine on 15 May 2022 in Berlin.AFP

NATO will look at providing security guarantees for Finland and Sweden during the interim period from their application for membership to accession, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday.

"Finland and Sweden are concerned about the interim period... we will try to speed up that process," the NATO secretary general said.

"We will look into ways to provide security assurances including by increasing NATO presence in the region."