Sweden, Finland set to join NATO
Russian invasion led nations to drop military neutrality
Sweden’s ruling party dropped the country’s historic military nonalignment on Sunday and agreed to join NATO, shortly after Finland’s leaders officially announced they would do the same.
The moves were major steps in ending decades of military neutrality for the two Nordic nations, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continued to dramatically shift security considerations in Europe.
NATO Secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said their accession would be a “turning point for security” in Europe. “Their membership in NATO would increase our shared security, demonstrate that NATO’S door is open, and that aggression does not pay.”
“We’re now facing a fundamentally changed security environment in Europe,” said Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. “And when we navigate in this new environment, the fundamental question for us is: How do we best protect Sweden? And the Kremlin has shown that they are prepared to use violence to achieve their political objectives, and that they don’t hesitate to take enormous risks.”
“Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is not only illegal and indefensible, it also undermines the European security order,” Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said. While the country’s “200year-long standing policy of military nonalignment has served Sweden well,” the nation now faced a “fundamental change,” she said. “As a member of NATO, Sweden not only achieves more security, but also contributes to more security,” Linde said.
Speaking at a news conference earlier in Helsinki alongside Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto described Sunday as a “historic day.”
The decision still needs to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries, but that is considered largely a formality. Once formal requests are submitted, each of NATO’S 30 member nations must approve, a process that could take months or longer.
While giving a green light, Sweden’s Social Democratic Party noted in a statement its opposition to deploying nuclear weapons or permanent bases on Swedish soil as part of the military alliance.
Both decisions represent a seminal shift in military thinking on the continent following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Amid threats from Moscow over NATO’S eastern expansion, Finland, which shares more than 800 miles of border with Russia, had held back from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since it was formed in 1949.