Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson gives a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 16, 2022. Sweden will apply for membership in NATO as a deterrent against Russian aggression, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said in a historic reversal of the country's decades-long military non-alignment. ‘The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wants to become a member of the alliance. The best thing for Sweden's security is that we join NATO. Sweden's NATO ambassador will shortly inform NATO, ’ Andersson told reporters a day after neighbouring Finland made a similar announcement. Editorial Use Only. Photo by Ninni Andersson/Riksdagen /Stella Pictures/Abaca/Sipa USA
Sweden Confirms Its Application For NATO Membership
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden will follow neighboring Finland and apply for NATO membership because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The move ends more than 200 years of military nonalignment in the Nordic nation. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson made the announcement on Monday, calling it “a historic change in our country’s security policy” as she addressed lawmakers in the capital of Stockholm. She said Sweden was acting together with Finland, whose government announced Sunday it would seek to to join the alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Moscow “does not have a problem” with Sweden or Finland but that “the expansion of military infrastructure onto this territory will of course give rise to our reaction.”
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