'Victory Against Putin:' Sweden Officially Joins NATO
Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO, dropping its long-standing neutrality and joining the alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On a visit to Washington, Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, handed over final NATO accession documents to Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department, TURAN’s Washington correspondent reports.
“Good things come to those who wait… No better example,” Blinken said as he received Sweden’s NATO Instruments of Accession. It was Sweden’s final step in a two-year process to join the military alliance.
“There’s also no clearer example than today of the strategic debacle that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has become for Russia”, Blinken added. “We see a Russia that is now weaker militarily, economically, diplomatically…. And we see again and again and again that everything Putin sought to prevent, he’s actually precipitated by his actions, by his aggression; and there’s no clearer example of that than Sweden becoming a member of this Alliance.”‘
Swedish PM Kristersson said in his turn that NATO is “stronger together.” “We will strive for unity, solidarity and burden-sharing,” he said, pledging to uphold the values of “freedom, democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law.”
Russia, he said, will stay a serious threat to the Euro-Atlantic security for the foreseeable future. “It was in this light that Sweden applied to join the NATO defense alliance – to gain security, but also to provide security. We have unique capabilities to contribute on land, in the air, at sea. Our support to Ukraine is a fundamental part of that. Ukraine is fighting bravely for its freedom, but they are also defending European freedom.”
The White House also said in a statement the inclusion of Sweden into NATO means the alliance is “stronger than ever,” which President Joe Biden called a “victory against Putin.”
“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could weaken Europe and divide NATO,” Biden said in his statement, noting that instead the alliance has grown with the addition of Finland and Sweden.
“Today, we once more reaffirm that our shared democratic values—and our willingness to stand up for them—is what makes NATO the greatest military alliance in the history of the world. It is what draws nations to our cause. It is what underpins our unity,” Biden noted.
NATO will hold a ceremony next week to celebrate Sweden’s inclusion and will hoist the Swedish flag up along with the flags of the other 31 members of the alliance in Brussels, and other alliance command centers in Europe and North America.
At the same time, we are strengthening our defense and doubling the defense budget right now. From this year onwards, Sweden meets NATO’s standard of 2 percent of GDP to defense spendings. This is important for NATO security, obviously, and to burden sharing. We are increasing the numbers of conscripts, strengthening civil defense, and reintroducing civilian service in Sweden. We have been prepared for this task for quite a while, and I’m very pleased to take this very final step.
Sweden is joining NATO is not the end of something. It’s a beginning of something new. I look forward to making the world safer and freer together with the United States and all other NATO Allies.