An independent Scotland would have to apply to Nato as a new state, secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said.
In an interview published in the Times, Mr Rasmussen is quoted saying Scotland’s membership would have to be approved by the other member states.
The Scottish government said membership was “in the strong interests of the rest of the alliance”.Pro-Union campaigners claimed the SNP’s plan to join Nato “isn’t credible” if it removes Trident nuclear weapons.
“I am not going to interfere at all with a campaign leading up to the referendum in Scotland, but I can inform you about procedures and the facts,” Mr Rasmussen told The Times.
“In [the] case that Scotland voted in favour of independence then Scotland would have to apply for membership of Nato as a new independent state.”
“A decision on accession would have to be taken by unanimity, by consensus as always in Nato.”
He added: “Some aspiring countries have waited for many years. Others enjoy a very short procedure depending on how close they are to fulfilling the necessary criteria.”
Image: Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, June 25, 2014 (photo: NATO)