Sweden officially became NATO’s 32nd member during a ceremony in Washington.
This Thursday, March 7, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO with the presentation of official documents during a ceremony in Washington.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson called it a “victory for freedom”. “Sweden has made an independent, democratic, sovereign and united choice to join NATO,” declared the leader, along with the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken.
“Everything comes in time to those who wait,” the US secretary of state said, referring to the lengthy ratification process among the 31 members. He also thought that this consolidation represented the “strategic decline” suffered by Russia.
US President Joe Biden assured them in a statement that NATO is “stronger than ever” with Sweden’s accession on Thursday. If Vladimir Putin wants to “split” the defense alliance by attacking Ukraine, the transatlantic alliance is by contrast “more united, determined and dynamic than ever”, he said.
Sweden and Finland, although militarily close to the United States through membership of the European Union, have historically preferred to stay away from the alliance formed during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Although Sweden contributes to international peacekeeping forces, it has not experienced war since a conflict with Norway in 1814.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Helsinki and Stockholm simultaneously announced their candidacy to join NATO in 2022.
Finland gained its membership in the alliance last April, but Sweden’s accession process has been stalled by negotiations with Turkey, which has accused the Nordic country of leniency towards Kurdish activists who have taken refuge on its soil, some of whom are considered terrorists by Ankara. .
Sweden also faced the reluctance of the Hungarian Prime Minister. Viktor Orbán certainly gave his agreement in principle long ago but, before completing the process, he demanded “respect” from Stockholm after years of “defamation” of his policies. In late February, the Hungarian Parliament finally ratified Sweden’s membership in NATO.
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