Italy ratifies the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden

The Italian Parliament gave its final approval on Wednesday to a bill ratifying the accession of Finland and Sweden to the NATO alliance.

The Senate voted 202-13 in favor of the bill, a day after the lower house overwhelmingly approved it.

Membership must be ratified by the parliaments of the 30 members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization before Finland and Sweden can be protected by NATO’s defense clause, which states that an attack on a member is an attack against all

NATO SAYS READY TO INTERVENE IN KOSOVO IF ‘STABILITY IS AT RISK’

Starting second from bottom left: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson; front from left, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde sign a memorandum in which Turkey accepts the membership of Finland and Sweden at the NATO Defense Alliance, Madrid, Spain, 28 June 2022.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Tuesday’s lower house vote was welcomed by Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party is seen as the front-runner in the national election, which will take place on September 25.

US SEEKS TO GROUND MYSTERIOUS PLANE IN ARGENTINA LINKED TO IRAN

Fratelli D’Italia party leader Giorgia Meloni attends an election rally in Piazza Roma on May 30, 2022 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Bremec/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“In the face of Russian aggression against Ukraine, strengthening the Alliance’s European front is an important step that can act as a deterrent to new Russian threats,” Meloni said in a statement.

ZELENSKY SAYS RUSSIA SHOULD BE DECLARED A TERRORIST STATE AFTER MASS KILLING OF 50 POLICE OFFICER

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the country’s transport industry via video link in Sochi, Russia on May 24, 2022.
(Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Kremlin via Reuters)

Meloni, leader of the most popular party in the conservative coalition, had supported Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s decision to send weapons to Ukraine, even though he opposed his government.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS

However, its two main allies, the League and Forza Italia, have been far more ambivalent, reflecting their historically close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.