Joining NATO is good for Sweden, it is good for stability in the north and for the Alliance as a whole, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday at the ceremony of raising the Swedish flag in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
“Sweden has been our partner for a long time, now it is an ally with all the advantages and responsibilities,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Sweden has superior capabilities and a first-class armed forces and defense industry, and that it spends more than two percent of its GDP on defense.
Ministers in his cabinet, Princess Victoria and leaders of six parliamentary parties arrived at the flag-raising ceremony together with Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson.
Sweden abandoned its more than 200-year-old policy of neutrality after Russia invaded Ukraine just over two years ago. For NATO, the accessions of Sweden and Finland, which share a 1,340 km long border with Russia, are the most significant in the last few decades of enlargement.
“Solidarity will be a guide for Sweden as a NATO member. We will share the burden, responsibility and risks with our allies,” said Prime Minister Kristerson, emphasizing that the security situation has not been this serious since World War II and that Russia will remain a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for the foreseeable future.
“Sweden joined NATO to gain, but also to provide, security. Our support for Ukraine is a fundamental part of that, Ukraine is bravely fighting for its freedom, but it is also defending European freedom. We in Sweden like to say that we have unique military capabilities to contribute on land, in the air and at sea,” said the Swedish Prime Minister.
Kristerson said his country fully shares responsibility with its NATO allies, including the nuclear strategy, but that he sees no need to deploy permanent bases or nuclear weapons on Swedish soil in peacetime.
When asked if he was worried about the possible reaction of Russia, which has always emphasized that it would react if Sweden joins NATO, and if he is afraid of cyber attacks and hybrid threats, Kristersson said that he should have remained cautious.
He pointed out that Russia is constantly carrying out cyber attacks and will continue to do so. “We must not be naive, therefore we must remain cautious,” he said.
Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin made a “big strategic mistake” when he attacked Ukraine.
“He wanted to prevent Ukraine from approaching NATO and the EU, and he demanded that we sign an agreement with Russia that there would be no further expansion of NATO to any country in Europe. Now he achieved the exact opposite, he wanted less NATO, and he got more and an even bigger military presence on the eastern flank. Today, Sweden and Finland are full members, and Ukraine has never been closer to NATO,” said Stoltenberg.
