Diplomacy

Sweden finally joins NATO in Ukraine war's shadow

Every Baltic Sea littoral state other than Russia -- Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany -- is now a NATO member.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) receives the NATO ratification documents from Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a ceremony March 7 in Washington, DC, as Sweden formally joins the North Atlantic alliance. [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) receives the NATO ratification documents from Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson during a ceremony March 7 in Washington, DC, as Sweden formally joins the North Atlantic alliance. [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]

By Kontur and AFP |

WASHINGTON -- Sweden on March 7 became the 32nd member of NATO, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment and capping two years of tortuous diplomacy after Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered new fears.

The move turns the Baltic Sea into a NATO lake. Every Baltic Sea littoral state other than Russia -- Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany -- is now a NATO member.

Days after Hungary became the last NATO member to sign off, Sweden ceremonially handed over accession documents to the United States, the leading force of the transatlantic alliance that promises joint security for all.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson late March 7 attended as a guest at the annual State of the Union address of US President Joe Biden.

Soldiers from the 13th counter intelligence battalion, 2nd reconnaissance platoon of the Swedish Armed Forces, participate in military exercise in Kungsangen, near Stockholm on February 27. [Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP]
Soldiers from the 13th counter intelligence battalion, 2nd reconnaissance platoon of the Swedish Armed Forces, participate in military exercise in Kungsangen, near Stockholm on February 27. [Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP]

"Mr Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen," Biden said.

"If anybody in this room thinks [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not," he added.

'Victory for freedom'

Kristersson, at an accession ceremony at the State Department, called joining NATO "a major step but, at the same time, a very natural step."

"It's a victory for freedom today. Sweden has made a free, democratic, sovereign and united choice to join NATO," he said.

He later delivered a televised address to the nation from Washington, telling Swedes: "We are a small country, but we understand more than most the importance of the greater world beyond our borders."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said few would have expected Sweden as well as Finland to join NATO before Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

There is "no clearer example than today of the strategic debacle that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has become for Russia," Blinken said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also hailed Sweden's membership, saying: "One more country in Europe has become more protected from Russian evil."

"At a time of Russian aggression... everyone sees how important it is to maintain alliances and partnerships," he added.

Russia has vowed "countermeasures" over Sweden's entry into NATO, especially if the alliance's troops and assets deploy in the country.

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