World of warships flags mod9/16/2023 TÜRKIYE SAYS NOT SO FAST Most observers expected Sweden and Finland’s applications to be fast-tracked, since they already fulfilled the membership criteria and the Ukraine war added urgency. Even Hultqvist and the Social Democrats made a U-turn, and in May last year Sweden and Finland jointly applied for NATO membership. As Russian tanks rumbled across the Ukrainian border and missiles struck Kyiv and other cities, public opinion shifted in both Finland and Sweden. Though it tweaked its status to “nonaligned” after joining the European Union in 1995 and gradually increased cooperation with NATO, Stockholm until last year ruled out applying for membership, with public opinion firmly against it.Īs late as November 2021 - three months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine - then-Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist promised that Sweden would never join NATO while his center-left Social Democrats were in office. Sweden declined to take sides during both world wars and throughout the Cold War, embracing neutrality as core to its security policy and even its national identity. Here’s what to know about Sweden's tumultuous road toward joining the alliance.įAREWELL TO NEUTRALITY For a country that hasn’t fought a war in two centuries, the decision to join NATO was huge. That means Sweden is now close to becoming NATO's 32nd member, though not quite yet over the finish line. New entries must be approved by all existing members and as NATO leaders meet for a summit in Vilnius, Sweden is missing the green light from two: Türkiye and Hungary.Ī major obstacle was overcome Monday when Türkiye’s president agreed to send NATO's accession documents to the Turkish Parliament for approval, something he had refused to do for more than a year. More than a year later, Finland is in, but Sweden is still in the alliance’s waiting room. When long-neutral Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland, both expected a quick accession process.
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