SWEDEN OFFICIALLY BECOMES 32ND MEMBER OF NATO MILITARY ALLIANCE

Fri 08 March 2024:

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has handed over Sweden’s instruments of accession to NATO to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a ceremony in Washington.

“Good things come to those who wait,” said Blinken. “With receipt of this instrument of accession let me be the very first to welcome Sweden as a party to the Washington Treaty and the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” he said.

“This has been a little bit of a road but I think we’ve known from day one that we would be here today, and now we are,” he said..

There is “no clearer example than today of the strategic debacle that Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has become for Russia,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden hails

“NATO stands more united, determined, and dynamic than ever” with the addition of Sweden, he said.

“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could weaken Europe and divide NATO. Instead, in May 2022, Sweden and Finland—two of our close partners, with two highly capable militaries—made the historic decision to apply for full NATO membership,” Biden said in a statement.

“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,” he said. “It is what draws nations to our cause. It is what underpins our unity.”

Noting that NATO will continue to stand for “freedom and democracy for generations to come,” Biden said, “I look forward to hosting all 32 Allies for the 75th Anniversary NATO Summit this summer in Washington D.C.”

Ukraine’s Zelensky welcomed Sweden’s accession to NATO

“Today, it is important to note that one more country in Europe has become more protected from Russian evil,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

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

“At a time of Russian aggression… everyone sees how important it is to maintain alliances and partnerships,” Zelensky added.

Germany on Thursday said that NATO was “stronger” with Sweden after the Nordic country ended its non-alignment and joined the military alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“With Sweden, the allianceis stronger and our people are safe. It’s good to know you are firmly by our side,” the German foreign ministry said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning their longstanding non-alignment policies, a decision spurred by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Finland, which shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) border with Russia, became a member on April 4, 2023, becoming the 31st.

Sweden completed its membership procedures after Hungary became the last NATO member to ratify the country’s membership last week, and instruments of ratification were sent Thursday to Washington. Türkiye approved Sweden’s application in January.

Sweden’s flag will be raised alongside the other 31 members in a ceremony Monday at NATO headquarters in Brussels to mark the accession.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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