STOCKHOLM | Following in Finland’s footsteps, Sweden formalized its candidacy for NATO membership on Monday, a historic reversal of these two formerly non-aligned Nordic countries which is a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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After nearly two centuries of neutrality and then of military non-alignment, “we are leaving an era to enter a new one”, underlined Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson during a press conference.
Sweden expects, she said, within a year at the most to be a member of NATO, which, for its part, is trying to calm the last-minute hostility displayed by Turkey, which will not “give in not” on his refusal of an accession of these two Nordic countries to the Alliance, hammered Monday its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“How are we going to trust them? Sweden is the breeding ground for terrorist organizations (…) We will not give in on the NATO membership of those who apply sanctions against Turkey”, insisted the Turkish head of state, again accusing the two Nordic countries to show leniency towards the Kurdish rebels of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) considered a terrorist organization.
The unanimity and parliamentary ratification of the thirty current members of the Atlantic Alliance is necessary to bring in a new member.
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Russia ready to react
The prospect of Sweden and Finland joining NATO “does not constitute an immediate threat”, Vladimir Putin commented on Monday, after several statements expressing Moscow’s irritation in recent days.
But Russia would react to deployments of “military infrastructure” in these two countries, he warned.
The Swedish Prime Minister had discussions with the party leaders in Parliament on Monday morning, to find that she had a large majority there.
With the historic about-face on Sunday by the ruling Social Democratic Party, six of the eight parties in the Swedish Parliament are now in favor of membership, representing a theoretical majority of 304 out of 349 deputies, or more than 85%.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland has been in the lead on NATO membership, with Sweden more of a follower.
Only the members of this organization benefit from its umbrella, not the candidates, which prompted Stockholm and Helsinki to request security assurances from several Alliance countries.
“Sweden will find itself in a vulnerable position during the accession period,” stressed Ms Andersson.
The neighboring Nordic countries – Norway, Denmark and Iceland, all three already in NATO – promised Monday to assist Sweden and Finland “by all means necessary” in the event of aggression.
“We are neighbors, we are friends. We look forward to becoming NATO allies,” said Danish leader Mette Frederiksen.
These two countries must be integrated “as soon as possible”, said the United Kingdom on Monday, which is “ready to offer them all (its) assistance during the accession process”.
France, for its part, said it “fully” supported the Swedish decision.
“Serious error”
For Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, on the other hand, the decision by Sweden and Finland constitutes a “serious error” whose “consequences will have far-reaching consequences”.
While the Kremlin explained its invasion of Ukraine by the risk of NATO expansion on its doorstep, Finland’s membership will extend the land borders between Russia and the alliance states by some 1,300 kilometers. .
With Sweden in addition, the Baltic Sea would become a “NATO lake”, apart from Russian waters off the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Saint Petersburg.
The Eduskunta, the Finnish Parliament, examined on Monday the candidacy officially presented on Sunday by the executive, before a vote which will take place at the earliest on Tuesday.
According to the latest Finnish media reports, at least 85% of the 200 elected will vote yes.
“The only country that threatens European security and is openly waging a war of aggression is Russia,” declared Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin as she opened the debate. “Our security environment has fundamentally changed.”
Official applications are to be sent to Atlantic Alliance headquarters in Brussels later in the week, with Stockholm and Helsinki planning to do so simultaneously, probably on Wednesday.
NATO had assured that the two countries would be welcomed “with open arms”, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to blur the prospect of unanimity without difficulty, saying he was hostile to their arrival.
A Swedish diplomatic delegation will be sent to “see how the issue can be resolved”, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist announced on Monday.