Sweden joined Nato in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the country’s best guarantee of safety.
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson handed over the final documentation to the US govt on Thursday, the last step in a drawn-out process to secure the backing of all members to join the military alliance.”Good things come to those who wait,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said as he received Sweden’s accession documents from Kristersson. Blinken said “everything changed” after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing polls showing a massive shift in Swedish public opinion on joining Nato. “Swedes realised something very profound: that if Putin was willing to try to erase one neighbour from the map, then he might well not stop there.”
For Nato, the accessions of Sweden and Finland – which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia – are the most significant additions in decades. It is also a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin who has sought prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.
“Today is a truly historic day. Sweden is now a member of Nato,” Kristersson said. “We will defend freedom together with the countries closest to us – both in terms of geography, culture and values.” He pledged that Sweden, which had largely dismantled its ground forces after 1989 but has maintained a powerful air force and navy, would soon reach Nato’s goal of spending 2% of GDP on the military. Nato is planning a ceremony on Monday to raise the Swedish flag at its Brussels headquarters.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, called it “a historic day.” In a statement, he said that “Sweden will now take its rightful place at Nato’s table, with an equal say in shaping Nato policies and decisions. After over 200 years of nonalignment Sweden now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”
The Russian government has said that it will now take undefined measures to enhance its own defence against the newly enlarged Nato.
Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defence guarantee under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all. The Nordic country would add cutting-edge submarines and a sizable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Nato forces and be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic.
While Stockholm has been drawing ever closer to Nato over the last two decades, membership marks a clear break with the past, when for more than 200 years, Sweden avoided military alliances and adopted a neutral stance in times of war. After WWII, it built an international reputation as a champion of human rights, and since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, successive governments have pared back military spending.
As recently as 2021, its defence minister had rejected Nato membership, only for the then-Social Democrat government to apply just a few months later. While Finland joined the alliance last year, Sweden was kept waiting as Turkiye and Hungary, which both have cordial relations with Russia, delayed ratifying Sweden’s accession. Turkiye approved Sweden’s application in Jan. Hungary delayed its decision on Sweden’s accession until Kristersson made a goodwill visit to Budapest on Feb 23, where the two countries agreed a fighter jet deal.
Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson handed over the final documentation to the US govt on Thursday, the last step in a drawn-out process to secure the backing of all members to join the military alliance.”Good things come to those who wait,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said as he received Sweden’s accession documents from Kristersson. Blinken said “everything changed” after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, citing polls showing a massive shift in Swedish public opinion on joining Nato. “Swedes realised something very profound: that if Putin was willing to try to erase one neighbour from the map, then he might well not stop there.”
For Nato, the accessions of Sweden and Finland – which shares a 1,340 km border with Russia – are the most significant additions in decades. It is also a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin who has sought prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.
“Today is a truly historic day. Sweden is now a member of Nato,” Kristersson said. “We will defend freedom together with the countries closest to us – both in terms of geography, culture and values.” He pledged that Sweden, which had largely dismantled its ground forces after 1989 but has maintained a powerful air force and navy, would soon reach Nato’s goal of spending 2% of GDP on the military. Nato is planning a ceremony on Monday to raise the Swedish flag at its Brussels headquarters.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, called it “a historic day.” In a statement, he said that “Sweden will now take its rightful place at Nato’s table, with an equal say in shaping Nato policies and decisions. After over 200 years of nonalignment Sweden now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”
The Russian government has said that it will now take undefined measures to enhance its own defence against the newly enlarged Nato.
Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defence guarantee under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all. The Nordic country would add cutting-edge submarines and a sizable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Nato forces and be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic.
While Stockholm has been drawing ever closer to Nato over the last two decades, membership marks a clear break with the past, when for more than 200 years, Sweden avoided military alliances and adopted a neutral stance in times of war. After WWII, it built an international reputation as a champion of human rights, and since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, successive governments have pared back military spending.
As recently as 2021, its defence minister had rejected Nato membership, only for the then-Social Democrat government to apply just a few months later. While Finland joined the alliance last year, Sweden was kept waiting as Turkiye and Hungary, which both have cordial relations with Russia, delayed ratifying Sweden’s accession. Turkiye approved Sweden’s application in Jan. Hungary delayed its decision on Sweden’s accession until Kristersson made a goodwill visit to Budapest on Feb 23, where the two countries agreed a fighter jet deal.