NATO chief: Membership for Finland, Sweden will prove ‘aggression doesn’t pay’

BERLIN — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says that membership by Finland and Sweden will prove “aggression does not pay” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Their membership would increase our shared security, demonstrate that NATO’s door is open and that aggression does not pay,” Stoltenberg tells reporters virtually at an alliance meeting in Berlin.

He voices confidence at resolving Turkey’s concerns on expected membership bids by Sweden and Finland.

“I am confident we’ll be able to find common ground, consensus on how to move on membership issues,” Stoltenberg says, adding that he was in touch with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says NATO countries are ready to provide military assistance to Ukraine to help it repel Russia’s invasion for as long as it is needed.

“We agree that we must not and will not let up in our national efforts, especially in terms of military support, for as long as Ukraine needs this support for the self-defense of its country,” Baerbock says at the NATO meeting.