WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweden officially became a member on Thursday. NATO It became the 32nd member of the Transatlantic Military Alliance, ending a decades-long military alliance. Neutrality after World War II This is because concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have increased following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided over a ceremony in which Sweden's “instruments of accession” to the alliance were formally deposited at the State Department.
“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It's historic for the alliance. It's historic for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said. “Our NATO alliance is now stronger and bigger than ever.”
“We are therefore a safer country,” Kristersson wrote in a social media post.
Then Thursday. Christerson visited the White House and then guest of honor At President Joe Biden's home state of the union address to parliament.
The White House said Sweden's membership as a NATO ally “makes the United States and our allies even safer.”
“NATO is the most powerful defense alliance in the history of the world and is as vital to keeping our people safe today as it was 75 years ago when our alliance was founded from the ashes of World War II.” said. said in a statement.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described it as a “historic day”.
“Sweden will now have an equal voice in shaping NATO's policies and decisions and will have a rightful place at the NATO table,” he said in a statement.
On Monday, the Swedish flag will be hoisted in front of the military headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg stressed that the Nordic country “currently enjoys the protections afforded it under Article 5, which is the ultimate guarantee of the freedom and security of our allies.”
Article 5 of the NATO Treaty impose obligations on all members To go to the aid of an ally whose territory or security is threatened. It has only been invoked once by the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and is the kind of collective security that Sweden has sought since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“With Sweden's membership, NATO will be stronger, Sweden will be safer, and the entire alliance will be safer,” Stoltenberg said. He added that the move “demonstrates that NATO's doors remain open and that all countries have the right to choose their own path.”
Sweden and Finland, which joined NATO last year, have both abandoned the longstanding military neutrality that had been a hallmark of the Nordic countries' Cold War foreign policy. Russia invaded Ukraine In early 2022.
In his speech to Congress, Biden is expected to point to Sweden's membership in NATO as evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions to divide and weaken the alliance have failed as a direct result of the invasion of Ukraine. And the Democratic president is expected to use Sweden's decision to join the party to step up demands on Republicans reluctant to approve stalled military aid to Ukraine as the war enters its third year. There is.
Mr. Biden and the NATO nations have vowed that Ukraine will join at some point.
Sweden's membership had been suspended due to opposition from NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Turkey has expressed concern that Sweden is harboring Kurdish groups it considers terrorists and is not doing enough against them, and Hungary's populist president Viktor Orbán has expressed pro-Russian sentiments. It does not share the alliance's determination to support Ukraine.
After months of delays, Turkey approved Sweden's membership earlier this year, followed by Hungary this week.
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Cook reported from Brussels.
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