The NATO flag was raised outside the Swedish parliament in a ceremony attended by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
Sweden officially joined NATO on March 7, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced it to rethink its national security policy and conclude that support for the alliance was the country’s best guarantee of safety.
Before the flag was raised alongside the Swedish and European Union flags, the King said it would be a symbolic gesture showing Sweden’s “willingness to, together with the other NATO countries, safeguard peace and freedom, not only for us who live here today but also for future generations.”
The accessions of Sweden and Finland to NATO, countries that share a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) border with Russia, are the most significant additions in decades. It is also a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.
Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defense guarantee, under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.
Before the flag was raised alongside the Swedish and European Union flags, the King said it would be a symbolic gesture showing Sweden’s “willingness to, together with the other NATO countries, safeguard peace and freedom, not only for us who live here today but also for future generations.”
The accessions of Sweden and Finland to NATO, countries that share a 1,340-kilometer (833-mile) border with Russia, are the most significant additions in decades. It is also a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to prevent any further strengthening of the alliance.
Sweden will benefit from the alliance’s common defense guarantee, under which an attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.
Source: Reuters
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