Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, per the AP. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken presided at a ceremony in which Sweden's "instrument of accession" to the alliance was officially deposited at the State Department. "Good things come to those who wait," Blinken said. Sweden's membership had been held up due to objections by NATO members Turkey and Hungary. After months of delay, Turkey ratified Sweden's admission earlier this year, and Hungary did so last week.
Later Thursday, Kristersson will visit the White House and then be a guest of honor at President Biden's State of the Union address to Congress. The White House said that having Sweden as a NATO ally "will make the United States and our allies even safer" while strengthening "the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world." Sweden, along with Finland, which joined NATO last year, both abandoned long-standing military neutrality—a hallmark of the Nordic states' Cold War foreign policy—after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. In his speech to Congress, Biden is expected to cite Sweden's accession to NATO as evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin's intent to divide and weaken the alliance has failed as a direct result of the Ukraine invasion.
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