Sweden is officially a member of NATO

(CNN) — Sweden officially joined NATO on Thursday after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused it to rethink its defense policy and abandon its long-standing position of neutrality.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson formally handed over membership documents to the US State Department in Washington, the final step in a months-long process to gain approval from all members and allow his country to become the alliance’s 32nd member. Was.

The documents are kept in a vault at the State Department, which serves as the depository for NATO treaties.

Ulf Christerson, Prime Minister of Sweden, on February 26, 2024. Credit: Jonathan Knackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined Kristersson in saying, “As we receive this instrument of accession, I will be the first to welcome Sweden as a party to the Washington Treaty and the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

Kristersson thanked his colleagues for welcoming Sweden into the group.

“We will strive for unity, solidarity and burden-sharing, and will fully adhere to the values ​​of the Washington Treaty: freedom, democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. “Together we are stronger,” he said in a statement.

Sweden and its neighbor Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, sought to join the bloc after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Finland officially joins in April 2023, more than doubling NATO’s border with Russia, dealing a blow to President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to block any growth of the alliance.

But Sweden’s effort to join the bloc was blocked for months by Turkey and Hungary, which have friendly relations with Moscow, and Stockholm delayed ratifying its accession.

Turkey’s parliament voted to approve Sweden’s candidacy in January after months of tension between the two countries, largely sparked by a series of Quran-burning protests in Sweden that angered Turkish lawmakers. Have become.

This photo taken on February 27, 2024 shows a blank flag among the flags of member states in the Court of Honor at NATO headquarters, before the flag-raising ceremony for Sweden to join NATO in Brussels on February 27, 2024. Credit: John Theiss/AFP via Getty Images

But Hungary kept Sweden waiting even longer, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban refusing to greenlight its candidacy on several occasions. Hungary’s parliament finally approved the annexation by Sweden last month.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Sweden’s joining “makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the entire alliance safer. I look forward to flying your flag at NATO headquarters on Monday.