Delay in Finland, Sweden's NATO approval harms alliance's credibility: Finnish PM

HELSINKI, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- The delay in the ratification of Finland and Sweden's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership bid harms the alliance's credibility, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said here on Tuesday.

"We (Finland and Sweden) would have hoped to become members of NATO already," she said. "Finland and Sweden fulfill all the criteria as it has been mentioned, and we are yet waiting. Of course, this strains the open-door policy of NATO; it's also to do with NATO's credibility," Marin said during a joint press conference with visiting NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.