After two centuries of neutrality then military non-alignment and two years of negotiations, Sweden officially became the 32nd member of NATO on Thursday, a major step for a country which had until then been careful not to provoke the ire of Moscow.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is traveling to Washington, where the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken is to officially receive the ratification documents.
The latter had been obtained through a tough struggle after long negotiations with certain members of the Alliance.
And the blue and yellow Swedish flag must be raised on Monday in front of NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Russia promised last week to take “countermeasures” in reaction to Stockholm's accession, which will depend
“on the conditions and extent of Sweden's integration into NATO”
.
Sweden's accession, following that of Finland last year, means that all countries bordering the Baltic Sea, with the exception of Russia, are now members of the Atlantic Alliance.
Sweden and Finland, although militarily close to the United States through their membership of the European Union, have historically preferred to stay away from the alliance, formed during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. .
Although Sweden contributes to international peacekeeping forces, it has not experienced war since a conflict with Norway in 1814.
“Too many sacrifices”
Helsinki and Stockholm simultaneously announced their candidacy to join NATO in 2022, in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Finland had obtained its accession to the Alliance last April, but Sweden's accession process was punctuated by negotiations with Turkey which accused the Nordic country of leniency towards Kurdish activists taking refuge on its soil, considered for some as terrorists by Ankara.
Sweden also had to deal with the reluctance of the Hungarian Prime Minister.
Viktor Orban had certainly given his agreement in principle a long time ago but, before completing the process, he demanded
“respect”
from Stockholm, after years of
“denigration”
of his policies.
At the end of February, the Hungarian Parliament finally ratified Sweden's membership in NATO.
According to a SR radio poll broadcast on Friday, a majority of Swedes believe that their country has made
“too many sacrifices”
to become a member of NATO, while admitting that Sweden's security has been strengthened with this membership. .
Sweden's accession to NATO was accompanied by a clear hardening of the rhetoric of its leaders, with the commander-in-chief of the Swedish armed forces, Micael Biden, declaring in January that his compatriots
"must prepare themselves mentally for the war"
.
In addition to its NATO candidacy, Sweden signed an agreement at the beginning of December authorizing the United States to have access to 17 military bases on its soil.