© AP
Sweden officially became a member of NATO on Thursday. This is reported by the US Department of State.
Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 3:33 PM
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was in Washington on Thursday to hand over the final documents for joining NATO. Not much later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that all conditions had been met. Sweden became the 32nd member of the treaty organization on Thursday.
Stockholm applied for NATO membership after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, breaking with Sweden’s policy of neutrality since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in the nineteenth century and military non-alignment since the end of the Cold War. Sweden contributes to international peacekeeping forces, but has not known war since a conflict with Norway in 1814.
The Swedish accession process to NATO met with Turkish refusal. Ankara delayed ratification due to Stockholm’s alleged support for groups Ankara labels “terrorists” – mainly meaning the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). To appease Turkey, Sweden reformed its constitution and passed a new anti-terrorism law. Hungary also delayed ratification. To celebrate the new partnership, Hungary announced it is purchasing four fighter jets from Sweden to strengthen its current fleet of fourteen Gripen aircraft.