Sweden finally joins Nato after nearly two-year wait

Hungary dropping opposition allows historically neutral country to become member, cementing alliance’s control of Nordic region

Sweden has officially became the 32nd member of Nato, in a landmark moment for the historically neutral country and the western military alliance.

Stockholm’s ratification process was finally completed in Washington on Thursday, as Sweden and Hungary – the last country to ratify Sweden’s membership – submitted the necessary documents after a drawn-out process that has taken nearly two years.

For Sweden, it marks the end of a 20-month-long wait that started in May 2022 when it submitted its application to join alongside Finland, prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that year. Finland became Nato’s 31st member last year.

Ratification also marks a historic sea change in Sweden’s national and international identity, as it shifts away from the neutrality that started at the end of the cold war.

The ratification cements Nato’s control of the Nordic region, with all countries now members, and makes the Baltic an entirely “Nato sea”.

The process was completed at about 5.30pm Swedish time, when the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, presided at a ceremony in which Sweden’s “instrument of accession” to the alliance was officially deposited at the state department. “Good things come to those who wait. No better example,” said Blinken.

With all the paperwork done, Sweden’s official Nato accession ceremony is expected to be held within days.https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2024/03/sweden-joinsnatomap/giv-1342593NoTD86WMqC

“This is a historic day. Sweden will now take its rightful place at Nato’s table, with an equal say in shaping Nato policies and decisions,” the Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said in a statement. “After over 200 years of non-alignment Sweden now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”

Sweden’s journey to Nato membership – which started under former prime minister Magdalena Andersson, of the Swedish Social Democrat party, and was taken over in 2022 by her successor, Kristersson, of the Moderate party – has been diplomatically fraught and long-winded.

First, Turkey made multiple demands regarding Sweden’s stance towards members of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is deemed a terrorist group by Turkey, the US and the EU. Then, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and members of the US Congress had tied Turkey’s backing of Sweden’s Nato membership with congressional approval of the $20bn (£15.7bn) sale of Lockheed Martin aircraft and modernisation kits to Turkey.

Turkey finally gave Sweden the green light in January, but Hungary continued to drag its feet, often giving obscure reasons. Some observers attributed the delay to Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who has close ties to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Others think it had more to do with Orbán’s desire to flaunt Hungary’s military and economic leverage, especially to a domestic audience. Hungary’s parliament finally voted “yes” at the end of last month.

In recent days, the Swedish government has kept quiet on the issue, fearing that Hungary might throw a last-minute spanner in the works. The first clear signs that progress was being made came on Wednesday when Kristersson and Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, boarded a plane from Stockholm to Washington.

On Thursday morning, imminent ratification was confirmed by the White House in an announcement listing Kristersson as a guest of the first lady at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

Kristersson will address the Swedish nation at 7pm local time (2000 GMT) from Washington.

Sweden and Nato have wasted no time in integrating Sweden into military manoeuvres. This week, Nordic Response, a first-of-its-kind military training exercise that includes Sweden and Finland, kicked off across the region, involving more than 20,000 soldiers.

On Wednesday, two American bombers escorted by Swedish fighter planes flew over Stockholm and Uppsala in a joint exercise in the middle of the day – symbolic posturing for a country that has traditionally identified as neutral.

Sweden recently signed a deal giving the US full access to 17 of its military bases and announced plans to send its forces to Latvia.

Source: The Guardian