Sweden and Finland will join NATO putting aside decades of neutrality to join the fight for Ukraine despite the Russian threats. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has stated that her party supports Sweden’s application to join NATO.
“We Social Democrats consider that the best for Sweden and the Swedish people’s security is that we join NATO. This is a decision that we have made after very careful consideration,” Andersson said during a press conference on Sunday.
“For us Social Democrats, the military non-alliance policy has served us well. But our analysis shows that it will not serve us as well in the future,” Andersson said. “This is not a decision that we have taken lightly.”
“It is very clear that there is a before and after the 24th of February 2022. Europe, Sweden, and the Swedish people are living in a new, dangerous reality. The European security order that Sweden has based its security policies on for centuries is now under attack,” Andersson said.
President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland announced their statement.
“We hope that the parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO membership,” Marin said in Helsinki on Sunday. “During the coming days. It will be based on a strong mandate, from the President of the Republic. We have been in close contact with governments of NATO member states and NATO itself.”
“We are close partners to NATO but it is a historic decision that we will join NATO and hopefully we are making the decisions together,” she added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin advised his Finnish counterpart that abandoning military neutrality and joining the bloc would be a “mistake”. Recently, Russia has cut the electric supply to Finland.