[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] On the 16th (local time), the Swedish government officially announced that it will apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) together with Finland in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This marks a change in stance from a long-standing military non-alignment policy that lasted over 200 years.
According to AP News and others, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson stated on the day, "The government has decided to inform NATO that Sweden wishes to become a member." This decision follows the announcement of Finland, a Nordic country, applying for NATO membership.
Prime Minister Andersson said, "This is a historic change in our country's security policy," adding, "Sweden needs official security guarantees along with NATO membership."
During the security policy debate held at the Swedish parliament on the day, the majority of the parliament supported joining NATO. Among the eight political parties, only two minority left-wing parties cast opposing votes.
Until now, Sweden and Finland had maintained a neutral stance and did not join NATO due to their military non-alignment policies. However, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, public support for joining NATO has rapidly spread. This decision is expected to provoke Russia's backlash.
The Finnish government decided to apply for NATO membership the day before. Accordingly, the Finnish parliament has begun related discussions from the day. However, this is considered a formal procedure.
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