The last symbol that was missing to show the expansion of NATO has become visible: the Swedish flag has been flying since this Monday alongside those of the other 31 members at the Brussels headquarters of an Atlantic Alliance that, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, It has only “been strengthened”, as highlighted by its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. And although there are no plans at the moment for Sweden to host nuclear weapons or multinational Alliance battle groups on its territory, the mere fact that this Nordic country has broken its historical neutrality to join the multinational defense body demonstrates, according to Stoltenberg , the “failure” of the strategy of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“When Putin launched his invasion [de Ucrania] two years ago, it wanted less NATO and more control over its neighbors. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state. But it failed. NATO is now bigger and stronger. And Ukraine is closer than ever to being a member of NATO,” Stoltenberg summarized during the Swedish flag-raising ceremony, which was attended by the Prime Minister of that country, Ulf Kristersson, and the Crown Princess, Victoria of Sweden. . After Finland’s entry almost a year ago, now “Sweden’s entry shows that NATO’s doors are still open. Nobody can close them. Each nation has the right to choose its own path and we all choose the path of peace and democracy (…), it is not up to Russia to decide which path European countries choose,” the Norwegian insisted.
According to NATO, along with the entry of Finland, the entry of Sweden, which became official last Thursday following managing to overcome the obstacles long imposed by Turkey and Hungary, “changes the defensive geography” of the Baltic, one of the most vulnerable to Russia. “We now have two important allies also in the western area of the Baltic Sea”, whose gateway is, precisely, Sweden, Stoltenberg celebrated. Currently, all countries bordering the Baltic, except Russia, are members of NATO.
Despite its strategic importance, the Atlantic Alliance currently has no plans to install nuclear weapons or combat groups in Swedish territory, respecting a decision of the country, as both Stoltenberg and Kristersson have stressed.
Geert Vanden Wijngaert (AP/LaPresse)
“There are no plans to expand the number of NATO allies with nuclear weapons. And although of course we continually evaluate our posture in relation to conventional forces, there are no plans, for example, to have a multinational battalion like we have in the Baltic countries,” declared the Secretary General. Currently, NATO’s forward presence comprises eight multinational battle groups: since 2017 they have been in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and, from 2022, also in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.
Renouncing more than 200 years of military neutrality, Sweden requested, together with Finland, membership in NATO following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But the reluctance of Turkey, which questioned the granting of safe haven in the Scandinavian country to opponents Turks that Ankara considers “terrorists”, and those from Hungary, have slowed down the entry process from Stockholm, now completed. Since this Monday, the Swedish flag flies at NATO headquarters between the Spanish and Turkish flags.
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