Sweden formally decides to apply for Nato membership, in step with Finland

STOCKHOLM/HELSINKI•  Sweden's government yesterday formally decided to apply for Nato membership, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, setting it on the road towards ending military non-alignment that lasted throughout the Cold War.

Finland had officially announced its intention to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) on Sunday.

"The government has decided to inform Nato that Sweden wants to be accepted as a member of Nato," Ms Andersson told reporters, adding that the application to be submitted this week would be synchronised with Finland.

Separately, neighbouring countries Norway, Denmark and Iceland said in a joint statement yesterday they stand ready to support their two Nordic neighbours should they be attacked before becoming members of the military alliance.

Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said: "Together with Denmark and Iceland, Norway stands ready to assist its Nordic neighbours by all means necessary should they be the victim of aggression on their territory before obtaining Nato membership."

Sweden's governing Social Democrats dropped their 73-year opposition to joining Nato on Sunday and are hoping for a quick accession, following Russia's Feb 24 invasion of Ukraine.

"Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people are living now in a new and dangerous reality," said Ms Andersson during a debate on security policy in Parliament yesterday.

However, she said Sweden did not want permanent Nato military bases or nuclear weapons on its territory if its membership was approved. There is broad backing in Parliament for an application, though the government does not need its approval to go ahead.

Swedish public support for Nato membership has also risen dramatically - albeit lower than in Finland - at around 50 per cent, with about 20 per cent against.

Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday warned that Nato's expansion may trigger a response from Moscow.

The expansion poses "no direct threat for us... but the expansion of military infrastructure to these territories will certainly provoke our response", he said during a televised summit meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Moscow-led military alliance.

In Helsinki, lawmakers held a marathon session, with over 150 out of 200 MPs asking to speak, following a Nato membership proposal presented on Sunday by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

"Our security environment has fundamentally changed," Ms Marin told Parliament. "The only country that threatens European security, and is now openly waging a war of aggression, is Russia."

Finland, which shares a 1,300km border with Russia, has a long shared history with the country. It spent more than a century as part of the Russian empire until it gained independence in 1917.

In Sweden, United States Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, while on a visit to Helsinki yesterday, said the US Congress will seek to ratify Finland's application to join Nato before the annual August recess. He said this before Sweden formally announced its decision to apply to join Nato.

Canada - Nato's other North American ally - also promised a quick ratification.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said yesterday that Canada was in favour of a rapid Nato accession of Finland and Sweden.

Meanwhile, Sweden will start diplomatic discussions with Turkey to try to overcome Ankara's objections to its plan to join Nato, said Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist.

Turkey surprised its Nato allies by saying it would not view applications by Finland and Sweden positively, mainly citing their history of hosting members of Kurdish militant groups. President Tayyip Erdogan called the Scandinavian countries "guesthouses for terrorist organisations".

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS