Sweden’s government party supports NATO membership
After Finland officially announced that it would apply for membership in NATO, Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party declared that it was in favor of joining the European military alliance.
– A joint Swedish-Finnish NATO bid is the best for Sweden’s security, said Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Both Sweden and Finland have made strenuous efforts to join NATO since the Russian invasion began in February for fear of their own security.
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Finland and Sweden had maintained a neutral status in European conflicts, but in the last two months both nations decided to reverse their policies in order to join the military alliance in the middle of the Ukraine war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken supported both bids and stated that the Biden administration “would strongly support the NATO application of either Sweden or Finland if they choose to formally apply to the alliance”.
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Russia had stopped supplying electricity to Finland on Sunday after the country’s energy authority said it was due to payment problems.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance will “try to speed up that process” when NATO sees new members. Stoltenberg claimed that the alliance would try to increase its presence in Europe and provide “security guarantees”.
The latest development also comes when Russia carried out air strikes in eastern Ukraine, including in Lviv near the Polish border. Russia claims to have carried out attacks in the Donetsk region.
The Russian military had previously said it would concentrate its forces in the eastern region after leaving Kyiv.
(With input from agencies)
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