In a ceremony held in cold and rainy weather, the flag of Sweden, which became the 32nd member of NATO, was raised, Monday at noon, at the Brussels headquarters of the North Atlantic Alliance. It is the epilogue of an almost two-year course of this Scandinavian country, which, after almost 200 years of neutrality and military non-alignment, in May 2022, together with Finland, expressed its intention to join the Euro-Atlantic organization after the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Finland achieved its goal first, after Turkey and later Hungary opposed Sweden’s accession. To give its consent, Ankara requested and received firm commitments from Stockholm regarding the fight against terrorism, and eventually, Budapest, which had never expressed a specific objection to Sweden’s accession, ratified the accession protocol of the Scandinavian country.
Sweden’s accession to NATO is a „historic” event and proves that the Russian President Vladimir Putin has „failed” in his attempt to weaken the Alliance, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less NATO and more control over his neighbors. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state. But he failed. NATO is bigger and stronger, and Sweden’s membership enhances this even further” Stoltenberg said in a joint press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels. „It’s a victory for freedom”, the Swedish Prime Minister emphasized in Washington, after handing the official accession documents to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States being the depository of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in the US capital in 1949.
In Bucharest, the Romanian Foreign Minister welcomed Sweden’s accession to NATO by submitting, on March 7, the instrument of ratification to the US State Department. By joining NATO, Sweden is stronger and safer, and the Alliance more consolidated, Bucharest officials believe while reiterating that Romania firmly supports the Alliance’s Open Door Policy. On Monday, at the Romanian Defense Ministry headquarters, the ceremony of raising the flags of Sweden, Romania and NATO took place, in the presence of Minister Angel Tîlvăr and the ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden in Romania, Therese Hyden.
„Together we are stronger. As a member, Sweden will equally contribute to the development of the Alliance policies and decisions, as well as to the strengthening of allied forces. The new ally brings into NATO a strong and well-trained army, as well as a robust defense industry”, Angel Tîlvăr also said. According to the Romanian official, „in order to strengthen the security situation, deterrence measures against Russia are also needed, and Sweden’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, together with Finland, will make substantial contributions to the integrated defense and deterrence posture on the eastern flank, ensuring coherence and unity from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.”
(Corina Cristea, Radio Romania International)
