Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is traveling to Washington, where the head of the American diplomacy Antony Blinken should officially receive from him the ratification documents. The documents were the result of long and hard negotiations with some Alliance members after Sweden announced its desire to join the Alliance on May 18, 2022.
Helsinki and Stockholm put forward their candidacy for NATO membership at the same time, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland secured membership in the Alliance last April, but Sweden's accession process has been delayed.
Sweden had to face resistance from Turkish President Erdogan, who demanded the extradition of members of the "Kurdistan Workers' Party". The same problems arose on the European continent, where Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who, having formally given his consent, demanded "respect" from the Swedish authorities, who, in his opinion, for many years "denigrated" his policy. It took Sweden more than 650 days of uninterrupted work to resolve these conflicts.
The last person to resist Sweden's entry into the military alliance was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but Hungary's National Assembly approved Sweden's entry into NATO on February 26, completing the approval process by all allies.
The Swedish flag is expected to be raised at NATO headquarters on March 11. Thus, Sweden will become the 32nd member of the Alliance. Ambassadors of NATO member countries will be invited and ceremonies are planned. There will also be a press conference in connection with the raising of the Swedish flag.
Last week, Russia promised to take "countermeasures" in response to the country's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, which will, Moscow said, depend "on the conditions and degree of Sweden's integration into NATO."
