By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - Sweden will officially join NATO on Monday after completing its membership procedures last month, local media reported on Wednesday.
The Nordic country will become the 32nd member of the military alliance at a ceremony to be held at NATO's headquarters in Brussels on March 11, according to the Swedish TV4 broadcaster.
In May 2022, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO, abandoning their long-standing policy of military neutrality, after Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership soon after the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022. Finland joined the alliance in April 2023, while Sweden completed its membership procedures last month.