Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced her party’s support for the country’s application to join NATO.
“We Social Democrats consider that the best thing about Sweden and the security of the Swedish people is our accession to NATO. This is a decision we made after very careful consideration,” Andersson said during a news conference on Sunday.
Anderson noted that this decision reflects a position the country has taken 200 years ago, leaving “a political line of security policies that we have taken in various shapes and forms.”
“For us Social Democrats, the policy of military non-alliance has served us well. But our analysis shows that it will not serve us well in the future,” Anderson said. This is not a decision we took lightly.”
The prime minister said the country had to “adapt to reality” and make decisions based on the current climate.
“It is very clear that there is before and after February 24, 2022. Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people live in a new and dangerous reality. The European security system on which Sweden has based its security policies for centuries,” Andersen said.
This expected announcement comes after Finland announced on Sunday its decision to apply to join NATO, after the two countries had previously refrained from joining for historical and geopolitical reasons.
Earlier on Sunday, the Swedish Social Democratic Party issued a statement on its website saying that it had decided that the country should work towards a Swedish application to join NATO.
The statement goes on to say that the party, if the request is approved by NATO, should act to declare unilateral conditions against the establishment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish soil.
Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linde called it a “historic decision”. in a tweet.
Earlier Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg He said that “the door of NATO is open” to Sweden and Finland.
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