By Leila Nezirevic
LONDON (AA) – Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson warned that the security situation in the Nordic region has not been as serious since World War II after Sweden officially joined the NATO military alliance on Thursday, ending decades of neutrality in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine.
“Russia will remain a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security for the foreseeable future,” said Kristersson in a statement delivered in Washington, D.C. after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Kristersson thanked his allies for welcoming Sweden into the military bloc.
“United we stand. Unity and solidarity will be Sweden's guiding light as a NATO member.
“We will share burdens, responsibilities and risks with our allies,” he said.
Konstantin Kosachev, a deputy speaker of Russia's Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, called Sweden's NATO accession “one of the most reckless and short-sighted decisions of the history of the kingdom," according to the TASS news agency.
Kosachev warned that Sweden will now be seen as a threat by Russia.
"NATO is not a guarantee of Sweden’s security, it is a guarantee of risks," he added.
“This is a historic moment for Sweden, for our alliance, and for the transatlantic relationship,” Blinken said, adding that “good things come to those who wait.”
For Sweden, this marks the end of an almost two-year-long wait that started in May 2022, when the Nordic country initially submitted its application to join the Western alliance together with neighboring Finland, just three months after the war in Ukraine started.
Finland became a NATO member last year, while Sweden’s application was delayed by Türkiye and Hungary.
Türkiye’s parliament ratified Sweden’s membership bid in January, while Hungary delayed it further until Kristersson made a visit to Budapest on Feb. 23, after which the government of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban eventually approved Sweden’s accession last month.
Kristersson said that for Sweden, this is a major step, but at the same time, a very natural step.
“Membership means that we are coming home to the alliance for peace and coming home to the alliance for freedom to which many democracies already belong,” he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden’s accession makes “NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole alliance more secure.”
The Swedish flag will be raised outside NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday.
Stoltenberg emphasized that the Scandinavian country now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, “the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”
Article 5 obliges all other NATO members to come to each other's defense if they are attacked.
The country will be spending 2% of its GDP on defense this year and in years to come, double what it was spending previously, according to Kristersson.
The ratification of Sweden ensures NATO’s control of the Nordic region, with all Baltic countries now members.