Sweden Officially Joins NATO In Blow To Russia

 

Sweden's former Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson after Sweden made its bid to join NATO, an effort that became official on Thursday

Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Thursday after two years of negotiations, dealing a blow to Russia as it looks to halt the organization’s expansion in Europe during its war in Ukraine.

NATO announced Sweden’s accession into the organization Thursday morning, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg calling its entrance a “historic day.”

Sweden’s admission into NATO gives the country security under the alliance’s Article 5, a provision stating that if any member country is attacked, “each and every other member” must “take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked,” including the use of armed forces.

Sweden, long known as a neutral party in European affairs, made a bid to join NATO in 2022, after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Its Nordic neighbor, Finland, joined the now-32-member bloc last April.

President Joe Biden joined a group of western leaders on Thursday to applaud Sweden’s entrance to the alliance, saying he’s “honored to welcome Sweden,” calling the group’s trans-Atlantic security “stronger than ever.”

KEY BACKGROUND

Sweden officially announced its bid to join the alliance in May 2022, three months after Russia launched its ground invasion into Ukraine, a war that has reignited tensions in Europe, disrupted international trade and prompted heavy sanctions from western countries on Russia. For the past two years, Sweden’s major roadblocks to joining NATO had been Hungary and Turkey—both holdouts to Sweden’s accession, though for different reasons. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had criticized Sweden over claims it was too lenient on Kurdish groups that Turkey considers terrorist organizations, though he came around to Turkey’s entrance last June, following talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Turkey approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO in January. Hungary lifted its veto on Sweden’s accession last month after Sweden vowed to provide Hungary with fighter jets, effectively giving the Scandinavian country the green light to join.

TANGENT

Sweden’s entrance comes as Russia warns against the possibility of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine, an unlikely scenario tossed around in recent weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron said the alliance had not ruled it out. While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, Macron said at a conference last month that “nothing is ruled out” to make sure Ukraine is victorious in its war with Russia, a sentiment that was met with pushback from other member countries, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arguing there “will be no ground troops” from NATO in Ukraine. Macron’s suggestion, however, was also met with pushback from Russian officials, who have for decades railed against NATO’s expansion—Putin just last month told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that NATO’s expansion caused a “rift” between Russia and the west. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, argued last month that Russia’s war in Ukraine is “not going to be about probability, but inevitability” of NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine, Russian state outlet TASS reported.