Sweden joins Nato as war in Ukraine prompts security rethink
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WASHINGTON/STOCKHOLM - Sweden joined Nato in Washington on March 7, 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 Scandinavian nation’s best guarantee of safety.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson handed over the final documentation to the US government on March 7, 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. This is a historic moment for Sweden, for our alliance and for the transatlantic relationship,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he received the accession documents from Mr Kristersson.
For Nato, the accessions of Sweden and Finland – with Finland sharing a 1,340km border with Russia – are the most significant additions in decades. They are also a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.
Mr Kristersson said: “Today is a truly historic day. Sweden is now a member of Nato.”
“The reason this is such a strong, powerful fit,” said Mr Blinken, “is because Sweden embodies and promotes the core values that are at the core of Nato – democracy, liberty, the rule of law.”
Mr Kristersson late on March 7 attended the annual State of the Union address of US President Joe Biden, whose rival Donald Trump has disparaged Nato as unfairly burdening the United States.
“Mr Prime Minister, welcome to Nato, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen,” Mr Biden said as he recognised Mr Kristersson, who sat in the gallery next to First Lady Jill Biden.
Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defence guarantee under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.
Mr Hakan Yucel, 54, an information technology worker in the Swedish capital, said: “Before, we were outside and felt a little bit alone. I think the threat from Russia, it’s going to be much less now.”
The Nordic country would add cutting-edge submarines and a sizeable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Nato forces and be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic.
Russia has threatened to take unspecified “political and military-technical countermeasures” in response to Sweden’s move.
“Joining Nato is really like buying insurance, at least as long as the United States is actually willing to be the insurance provider,” said Dr Barbara Kunz, a researcher at defence think-tank Sipri.
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 World War II, 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, alongside neighbour Finland, a few months later.
“I guess we had to take a stance really and I’m happy that we actually did and that we are safeguarded by Nato because the tension with Russia has been growing for a couple of years,” said Mr Carl Fredrik Aspegren, 28, a student in Stockholm.
While Finland joined the alliance in 2023,
Turkey approved Sweden’s application in January.
Hungary delayed its decision on Sweden’s accession until Mr Kristersson made a goodwill visit on Feb 23 to Budapest, where the two countries agreed on a fighter jet deal. REUTERS
