<
https://theconversation.com/sweden-is-joining-nato-what-that-means-for-the-alliance-and-the-war-in-ukraine-209539>
"In a surprise move, Turkey has ended its veto on Sweden joining Nato, thereby
removing all the barriers to its membership of the military alliance.
Hungary quickly followed suit and, as a result of the two countries’ support, a
consensus was able to be reached at the 2023 Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreeing to support Sweden’s bid to join
will be touted as one of the key achievements of the summit.
Sweden submitted its formal application for membership in May 2022 alongside
Finland, which was admitted into the alliance in April 2023.
Sweden, though not a formal member, has had a very close relationship with Nato
for almost 30 years, since joining the alliance’s Partnership for Peace
programme in 1994. It has contributed to Nato missions. And as a member of the
European Union and contributor to the bloc’s common security and defence
policy, it has also worked closely with the vast majority of European Nato
allies.
In pursuing Nato membership, both Sweden and Finland have dramatically shifted
their traditional policy of military non-alignment. A critical driver of this
move was, clearly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is also
more evidence that Russian president Vladimir Putin has failed to achieve two
of his own strategic objectives: weakening solidarity in the alliance and
preventing further Nato enlargement towards Russia’s borders.
Finland and Sweden’s accession is of significant operational importance to how
Nato defends allied territory against Russian aggression. Integrating these two
nations on its north flank (the Atlantic and European Arctic) will help to
solidify plans for defending its Ukraine-adjacent centre (from the Baltic Sea
to the Alps). This will ensure that Russia has to contend with powerful and
interoperable military forces across its entire western border."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
