‘Historic day’ as Sweden joins Nato alliance

NATO leaders hailed a historic moment for European security yesterday as Sweden joined the alliance, ending a twoyear process marred by resistance from Hungary and Turkey.

The last hurdle was removed after Hungary’s parliament approved the Nordic nation’s accession following a deal to sell Swedish fighter jets to Budapest. Rishi Sunak said the moment marked a “historic day for our alliance” while Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said it would “safeguard our collective security today and tomorrow”.

Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister whose country shares a land border with Russia, said Sweden’s accession “sends a signal to Russia: attempts to blackmail Nato away from its neighbourhood have failed”.

Hungary’s vote ended months of delay after a visit on Friday by Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish prime minister, during which the two countries signed an arms deal. It includes four Swedish-made Saab JAS 39 Gripen jets, expanding Hungary’s fleet to 14. Sweden’s membership was supported by 188 lawmakers in the Hungarian parliament, with just six against.

Turkey had also blocked Sweden’s accession until the US promised to sell F-16 jets to Ankara. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s president, had accused Stockholm of harbouring Kurdish militants. He withdrew his Nato objections when Sweden agreed to lift a ban on Turkish arms exports, changed its laws and agreed to work with Ankara on the issue of Kurds.

Sweden had hoped to join Nato at the same time as neighbour Finland, which was also non-aligned until the invasion of Ukraine.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Russian Embassy had previously hinted at military action against Sweden and Finland, if they joined Nato.

“If anyone still believes that this will somehow improve Europe’s security, you can be sure that the new members of the hostile bloc will become a legitimate target for Russia’s retaliatory measures,” the post said.