WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweden officially became a member on Thursday. NATO It became the 32nd member of the Transatlantic Military Alliance, ending a decades-long military alliance. Neutrality after World War II And centuries of widespread non-alignment with great powers continue, even as Europe's security concerns soar in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden congratulated Sweden on its entry and said Russian President Vladimir Putin's intervention in Ukraine was a sign that the alliance was uniting rather than dividing.
“When President Putin launched a brutal war of aggression against the Ukrainian people, he thought he could weaken Europe and divide NATO,” Biden said in a statement Thursday. He is expected to express similar ideas in his State of the Union address to Congress later in the day.
“Instead, in May 2022, Sweden and Finland – our close partners and home to two highly capable militaries – will take the historic decision to apply for full NATO membership. “We did it,” Biden said. “With the addition of Sweden today, NATO is more united, determined and dynamic than ever, with 32 nations now stronger.”
At the ceremony, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accepted Sweden's Instrument of Accession, formally joining the NATO alliance.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided over a ceremony in which Sweden's “instruments of accession” to the alliance were formally deposited at the State Department.
“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It's historic for the alliance. It's historic for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said. “Our NATO alliance is now stronger and bigger than ever.”
“This is truly a historic day,” Christerson said. “We are humble but proud at the same time. We will live up to the high expectations of all NATO allies. We will stand united. Unity and solidarity will be Sweden's guiding principles.
Then Thursday. Christerson visited the White House and then guest of honor at Biden's house state of the union address.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also called it a “historic day”.
“Sweden will now have an equal voice in shaping NATO's policies and decisions and will have a rightful place at the NATO table,” he said in a statement.
On Monday, the Swedish flag will be hoisted in front of the military headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg stressed that the Nordic country “currently enjoys the protections afforded it under Article 5, which is the ultimate guarantee of the freedom and security of our allies.”
Article 5 of the NATO Treaty impose obligations on all members To go to the aid of an ally whose territory or security is threatened. It has only been invoked once by the United States after the attacks of September 11, 2001, and is the kind of collective security that Sweden has sought since Russia invaded Ukraine.
“With Sweden's membership, NATO will be stronger, Sweden will be safer, and the entire alliance will be safer,” Stoltenberg said. He added that the move “demonstrates that NATO's doors remain open and that all countries have the right to choose their own path.”
Sweden and Finland, which joined NATO last year, have both abandoned the longstanding military neutrality that had been a hallmark of the Nordic countries' Cold War foreign policy. Russia invaded Ukraine In early 2022.
In a speech to Congress, Biden said he would use Sweden's decision to join as the war enters its third year to press reluctant Republicans to approve stalled military aid to Ukraine. It was expected.
Mr. Biden and the NATO nations have vowed that Ukraine will join at some point.
Sweden's membership had been suspended due to opposition from NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Turkey has expressed concern that Sweden is harboring Kurdish groups it considers terrorists and is not doing enough against them, and Hungary's populist president Viktor Orbán has expressed pro-Russian sentiments. It does not share the alliance's determination to support Ukraine.
After months of delays, Turkey approved Sweden's membership earlier this year, followed by Hungary this week.
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Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen contributed from Copenhagen, Denmark.
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