NATO defense ministers meet with Swedish, Finnish counterparts

The two Nordic nations' accession to NATO awaits ratification from Hungary and Turkey.

NATO defense ministers on Thursday met with their Swedish and Finnish counterparts at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

Of the alliance’s 30 members, 28 have ratified the two Nordic nations’ application to join. Just Hungary and Turkey remain to approve.

Stoltenberg praised the U.N. General Assembly’s condemnation on Wednesday of Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four partially-occupied regions in Ukraine.

Thursday’s agenda at NATO headquarters in Brussels includes discussions on how to give a clear signal to industry to ramp up arms production both for internal needs, and to support Ukraine’s defense.

Allies will also discuss ways to improve protection of their critical infrastructure, after apparent attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines contributed to heightening tensions. It remains unclear who was behind the explosions under the Baltic Sea.

The meeting, the first held by the alliance since the Russian annexation, comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a bid for fast-track membership of NATO, but full NATO membership for Ukraine is far off because all the alliance’s 30 members would have to give their consent.

On Wednesday, nearly 50 countries gathered at NATO headquarters and committed to arming Ukraine through the winter and beyond, including with new air defenses, potentially preventing Russia from taking advantage of a slower winter to reset its forces.