The US Senate has approved adding seven Eastern European nations to the 19-member NATO military alliance.
The Senate gave the two-thirds majority vote needed for US ratification to add Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance.
The US House of Representatives does not have to vote on the protocol. So far Canada and Norway are the only other countries to ratify the expansion, which must be approved by all member nations.
AFP