Sweden poised to join Nato as PM visits Washington

Washington/Stockholm — Sweden was expected to join Nato in Washington on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced a rethink of its national security policy and acceptance of alliance as the best guarantee of safety.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is in Washington to hand over the final documents. The White House said in a statement before President Joe Biden’s state of the union address that Sweden would join on Thursday.

“Having Sweden as a Nato ally will make the US and our allies even safer,” said the White House.

The Swedish government said that it would take the formal decision for the country to join Nato on Thursday.

For Nato, the accession of Sweden and Finland, which has a 1,340km border with Russia, is the most significant expansion for decades. It is also a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin who has tried to prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.

Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defence guarantee under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.

“We have to face the world as it is not how we sometimes wish it were,” Kristersson said after Hungary became the last Nato member last week to ratify Sweden’s accession.

Sweden adds cutting-edge submarines and a sizeable fleet of domestically produced Gripen fighter jets to Nato forces and would be a crucial link between the Atlantic and Baltic.

Russian threats

Russia has threatened to take unspecified “political and military-technical countermeasures” in response to Sweden’s move.

While Stockholm has drawn ever closer to Nato over the past two decades, membership is a clear break with the past, when for more than 200 years, Sweden avoided military alliances and adopted a neutral stance in wars.

After World War 2, it built an international reputation as a champion of human rights. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, successive governments cut military spending.

As recently as 2021, its defence minister rejected Nato membership, only for the then-Social Democrat government to apply, alongside neighbour Finland, just a few months later.

While Finland joined last year, Sweden was kept waiting as Turkey and Hungary, which have cordial relations with Russia, delayed ratifying Sweden's accession. Turkey approved Sweden’s application in January.

Hungary delayed its move until Kristersson paid a goodwill visit to Budapest on February 23 and the two countries agreed on a fighter jet deal.

Reuters