Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, delivered the last set of documents to the US administration on Thursday. This was the last stage in a protracted process to get everyone's support for joining the military alliance.
As he accepted Sweden's accession documents from Kristersson, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken remarked, "Good things come to those who wait."
Blinken claimed that during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "everything changed," citing polls that revealed a sharp shift in the Swedish public's view on NATO membership.
"Swedes realised something very profound: Putin might not stop there if he was willing to try to erase one neighbour from the map."
The admission of Sweden and Finland, which have a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, to NATO is the alliance's biggest growth in decades. Additionally, it is a setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has worked to stop the alliance from getting stronger.
It's a genuinely momentous day today. NATO now includes Sweden, according to Kristersson. "With the nations that are closest to us in terms of geography, culture, and values, we will defend freedom together."The collective defence guarantee of the alliance, which views an attack on one member as an attack on all, will be advantageous to Sweden.
Regarding the admittance, Hakan Yucel, a 54-year-old IT worker in the Swedish capital, stated: "Previously, we were outside and felt a little bit alone... I believe that Russia will now pose much less of a threat.
The Nordic nation would be a vital link between the Atlantic and Baltic, providing NATO forces with state-of-the-art submarines and a substantial fleet of fighter jets built in the country.In reaction to Sweden's action, Russia has threatened to conduct "political and military-technical counter-measures" that are not yet known. According to Barbara Kunz, a researcher at the defence think tank SIPRI, "joining NATO is really like buying insurance, at least as long as the United States is actually willing to be the insurance provider."
Stockholm has been getting closer to joining NATO during the past 20 years, but this is a significant departure from the country's previous policy of staying neutral in times of conflict and avoiding military alliances for more than 200 years.
It gained a reputation as a global advocate of human rights following World War II, and with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, administrations have reduced military spending.
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