MOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) - Scotland will have to apply for NATO membership like any other state if Scots vote in favor of independence from the United Kingdom, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday.
"If a new independent state wants to become a member of NATO, it will have to apply for membership of NATO, and such an application will be addressed in exactly the same way as all applications are dealt with. And eventually it will require consensus, unanimity within the alliance to accept a new member," Rasmussen told reporters.
When asked how long an independent Scotland would have to wait to rejoin NATO, Rasmussen stated that this would be largely up to the country's ability to "fulfill the necessary criteria".
"Timelines differ significantly when it comes to applicant countries' route towards membership," he said, noting that the question was purely hypothetical, as it was not up for discussion within the alliance.
The NATO chief stressed that he does not believe that any outcome of the Scottish referendum is likely to have an impact on the United Kingdom's contribution to the alliance.
The long-standing issue of Scottish independence is to be settled by a referendum scheduled for September 18. If the majority votes for independence, Scotland will secede from the United Kingdom on March 24, 2016.
