2nd report: Sweden joins NATO, ending historic neutrality

[Boats]

2nd report: Sweden joins NATO, ending historic neutrality
By: AAP & The NewDaily - Mar 08, 2024, updated Mar 08, 2024
Re: https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/...den-joins-nato

Photo link: https://wp.thenewdaily.com.au/wp-con...876&quality=90
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Photo: AAP

Sweden has formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and 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.

“This is a historic moment for Sweden. It’s historic for the alliance. It’s history for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said. “Our NATO alliance is now stronger, larger than it’s ever been.”

Kristersson wrote in a social media post that “we are therefore a safer country.”

Kristersson will visit the White House and then be a guest of honor at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to Congress.

The White House said that having Sweden as a NATO ally “will make the United States and our allies even safer.”

“NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens as it was 75 years ago when our alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II,” it said in a statement.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg described it as “a historic day.”

“Sweden will now take its rightful place at NATO’s table, with an equal say in shaping NATO policies and decisions,” he said in a statement.

The Swedish flag will be raised outside the military organisation’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday. Stoltenberg underscored that the Nordic country “now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”

Article 5 of NATO’s treaty obliges all members to come to the aid of an ally whose territory or security is under threat. It has only been activated once – by the US after the September 11, 2001, attacks – and is the collective security guarantee that Sweden has sought since Russia invaded Ukraine.

“Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole alliance more secure,” Stoltenberg said. He added that the move “demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path.”

Sweden, along with Finland, which joined NATO last year, both abandoned long-standing military neutrality that was a hallmark of the Nordic states’ Cold War foreign policy after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

Biden, in his speech to Congress, is expected to cite Sweden’s accession to NATO as evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intent to divide and weaken the alliance has failed as a direct result of the Ukraine invasion. And, the Democratic president is expected to use Sweden’s decision to join to step up calls for reluctant Republicans to approved stalled military assistance to Ukraine as the war enters its third year.

Biden and his NATO counterparts have vowed that Ukraine will join one day, too.

Sweden’s membership had been held up due to objections by NATO members Turkey and Hungary. Turkey expressed concern that Sweden was harbouring and not taking enough action against Kurdish groups that it regards as terrorists, and Hungary’s populist President Viktor Orban has shown pro-Russian sentiment and not shared the alliance’s determination to support Ukraine.

After months of delay, Turkey ratified Sweden’s admission earlier this year, and Hungary did so this week.

Topics: NATO, Sweden
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Personal note: Better safe than sorry! I'm 1/4 Swed on my grandpartents side.
The rest is French & Italian (geno). But I was born stateside at birth making
me an American at birth! Thank God for that - but our system of late is in
flux and our future is not looking too good of late. Our political issues are
disgusting and the outcome looks leary!
-
My wishes are for "Peace on Earth" and not combat 24/7 around the globe.
I did my 12 years two tours Nam. Lost my Brother, & my best friend George;
and five more guys from the neighborhood. I've seen death and wounded
and it's not pleasant but losing so many from our family and friends sends
a message to me that they must be remembered - and I hope I've made
them part of my family and that they know they are greatly missed. They
all had so much to offer us all had they made it back safely - rather then
in box.
-
I can never forget them - and many of the others that I also knew while
serving on active duty. Unless you've been there - you can't really relate
to the casualties and the fallen - and the men that were lost & wounded!
-
Even to this very day we are seeing more dead and wounded from more
service related issues in the field! I thank God for all those brave & injured
and fallen - for a cause of which many have suffered!
-
Don't ever count us out - we stand until we've fallen - thereby we carry
this baggage or message to the many who ducked the draft or service -
when other's didn't - and some paid the high price of severe injuries and
death - who still suffer to this day!
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An to those of you who ducked the service - we know who you are!
And when the shit hits the fan - who's there to back your ass up!?
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Boats