Sweden officially became part of the NATO alliance Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the nation to overhaul its non-alignment policy.
Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington, D.C., to formally join NATO and he is expected to attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday evening.
“t’s official – #Sweden is now the 32nd member of #NATO, taking its rightful place at our table. Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure. I look forward to raising their flag at NATO HQ on Monday,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on X Thursday. Hungary ratified Sweden’s ascension into the alliance last week, becoming the final NATO country to do so.
The nordic country applied for NATO membership in May 2022, about three months after Russia began its war in Ukraine. The admission of Finland and Sweden expands NATO to 32 members.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billstrom, and Kristersson held a meeting Thursday morning to welcome Sweden into NATO and reflect on how Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine caused a dramatic shift in Sweden’s national-security policy.
“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It’s historic for our alliance. It’s historic for our transatlantic relationship. Our NATO alliance, a defensive alliance, is now stronger and larger than it’s ever been,” Blinken said.
“Swedes realized something very profound, that if Putin was willing to try to erase one neighbor from the map, then he might well not stop there. And if he was allowed to proceed with impunity, not only would his aggression potentially continue, but would-be aggressors everywhere would get the message that it was open season.”
The ascension of Sweden into NATO reflects the weakening of Russia and resilience of the international order, Blinken asserted.
Putin claimed NATO expansion following the end of the Cold War was one reason for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during an interview last month with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. NATO only came up in the discussion after Putin started off the interview by going on long-winded, revisionist account of Russian and Ukrainian history.
“Today is a truly historic day. Sweden is now a member of NATO,” said Kristersson. “We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming bipartisan congressional support for Sweden’s ascension and for the strong leadership from the US administration,” he added. The Swedish prime minister thanked President Biden, Blinken and NATO allies for their support.
Kristersson said the decision by Sweden to join NATO is backed overwhelmingly by his nation’s people and parliament after two hundred years of neutrality.