SHARED “RISKS”
Sweden’s accession officially happened last Thursday in Washington, where Kristersson handed over the relevant documents at the US State Department. He then attended President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
Monday’s rain-slicked ceremony raising the Swedish flag outside NATO sealed the historic expansion in symbolic terms.
The flag – a yellow cross on a blue background – was hoisted between the ones for Spain and Turkey, in alphabetical order.
“Sweden’s accession shows again that NATO’s door remains open. No one can close it. Every nation has the right to choose its own path,” Stoltenberg said just before it went up.
In a joint media conference with Kristersson minutes earlier, Stoltenberg had admitted that he “didn’t expect” to see Finland and Sweden join during his time as the alliance’s secretary general.
“Of course this changed totally with the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and since then things really moved very quickly.”
Kristersson said Sweden now “will share burdens, responsibilities – and risks – with our allies”.
“The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future,” he said.
For Russians, Putin has framed his 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine as a defensive “special military operation” against an expanding NATO.
The member countries of the alliance have lent their military and financial support to Kyiv in its fightback.
But momentum is slowing as US political will fractures ahead of a November presidential election and as Europe struggles to meet the ammunition needs of an outgunned Ukraine.
Stoltenberg said a negotiated peace was possible for Ukraine – but only if Putin pulls his forces back.
“President Putin started this war and he could end it today. But Ukraine does not have this option. Surrender is not peace,” the NATO chief said.
“We must continue to strengthen Ukraine to show President Putin that he will not get what he wants on the battlefield, but must sit down and negotiate a solution.”
Source: CNA
