Sweden announces formal decision to join NATO

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Monday that Sweden’s government has formally decided to apply for NATO membership, joining its Nordic neighbor, Finland, in breaking a decades-long neutrality that lasted throughout the Cold War.  

Historic decision taken today! Sweden will apply for NATO membership. https://t.co/bsYDYg5rxh pic.twitter.com/Ldr6bFjHwa

— Sweden at NATO (@SwedenNato) May 16, 2022

"We are leaving one era behind us and entering a new one," Andersson told reporters on Monday, adding that an application could be handed in as early as Monday afternoon, in coordination with Finland, Reuters reported.

"NATO will strengthen Sweden, Sweden will strengthen NATO," she added.

Although Sweden has hinted at joining the Western military alliance, neutrality has been a pillar of the Scandinavian country’s foreign policy for two centuries. Concern over Russia’s intentions, however, has pushed lawmakers towards the security bloc and the governing Social Democrats even dropped their 73-year opposition to joining NATO, calling instead for a quick accension.

Lawmakers, however, have said that Sweden does not want permanent NATO bases or nuclear weapons on its territory if they ultimately join.

Although there is broad backing for the application in Stockholm, Andersson warned that it could take up to a year to get approval from the parliaments of the 30 NATO member states – leaving Sweden in a precarious security situation during that period.

General Micael Byden, commander of Sweden’s armed forces, told reporters that he fully supported the government’s decision to join NATO, citing strategic concerns and the benefits of cooperation with member states.

"I know, based on my conversations and the relations that I have with my counterparts, that Sweden is welcome in NATO. But we are not only welcome - I also know that Sweden as a member makes NATO stronger," Byden said.

In a joint statement on Monday, Scandinavian neighbors Denmark, Norway and Iceland pledged to support Sweden’s membership bid – joining the ranks of Washington, London and Berlin.

Turkey, however, has signaled that it might not support Sweden or Finland joining the security alliance, citing their history of hosting members of Kurdish militant groups, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan went as far as calling the Nordic neighbors “guesthouses for terrorist organizations.”

Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist on Monday said that Stockholm would start diplomatic discussions with Turkey to try to overcome Ankara's objections to its plan to join NATO.

"We will send a group of diplomats to hold discussions and have a dialogue with Turkey so we can see how this can be resolved and what this is really about," Hultqvist told reporters.