The Swedish government has confirmed it intends to apply for membership of NATO, joining neighboring Finland in a similar decision following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to date.
“There is a broad majority in Sweden’s parliament for Sweden to join NATO,” said the prime minister, Magdalena Andersson. “This is the best thing for the security of Sweden and its people … We are leaving one era behind us and entering a new one.”
Andersson told reporters after a parliamentary debate on Monday that Sweden would be “in a vulnerable position” while the application was processed, but that ministers saw no direct military threat from Russia at present.
Before the announcement, Stockholm had received security assurances from key partners, including the US, Britain, Germany, and France, she said, and on Monday Denmark, Norway and Iceland also pledged support, saying they would “assist Finland and Sweden, by all means, necessary” if they were attacked before obtaining NATO membership.
However, the government “can’t exclude that we will be subjected, for example, to disinformation and attempts to scare and divide us”, Andersson said, adding that if its application was approved, Sweden would not want permanent NATO military bases or nuclear weapons on its territory.
This is coming after the Finnish government confirmed on Sunday its intention to join NATO, shortly before Andersson’s ruling Social Democrats abandoned decades of opposition to back a Swedish bid for membership, making Monday’s Riksdag debate a formality.
Russia has previously advised both countries against joining NATO, saying such a move would oblige it to “restore military balance” by strengthening its defences in the Baltic Sea region, including by deploying nuclear weapons. (LIB, Photo: LIB)