Canada is the first country to ratify the integration of Finland and Sweden into NATO on Tuesday.

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“As a close friend and security partner, Canada strongly supports Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in NATO,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

The latter met his counterparts from Finland and Sweden at the NATO summit held in Madrid, Spain last week.

“Canada has full confidence in the ability of Finland and Sweden to integrate quickly and effectively into NATO and contribute to the collective defense of the Alliance. We always appreciate their close partnership with the Alliance and their valuable contributions to transatlantic security.

Their membership will make NATO stronger, and we urge all NATO member states to quickly complete the ratification process to reduce the possibility of enemy interference,” Mr. Trudeau added.

Ratification by other member states of the organization should take place in the coming weeks.

In June, members of Parliament in the House of Commons voted in favor of NATO membership.

These two Scandinavian countries, traditionally neutral on the military level, changed their ideological course after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who denounced NATO’s “imperialist ambitions” last week, was indifferent about the two countries’ accession to NATO.

“If Finland and Sweden want it, let them join. It is their job, they can join wherever they want,” he stressed, adding that this “is not a problem” for Russia.