Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has stated that she will not be pursuing a possible application for her country to join NATO, arguing that an application could further destabilize Europe.
Prime Minister Andersson stated Tuesday that she did not support applying to join the NATO alliance, arguing that, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, such a move could further destabilize the security situation in Europe.
“If Sweden were to choose to send in an application to join NATO in the current situation, it would further destabilize this area of Europe and increase tensions,” Andersson said and added, “I have been clear during this whole time in saying that what is best for Sweden’s security and for the security of this region of Europe is that the government has a long-term, consistent and predictable policy and that is my continued belief.”
On Wednesday, Andersson was asked if she stood by her Tuesday statement and said, “My assessment is that for Swedish security it is best that we keep a cool head, have both feet on the ground and have a long-term and predictable security policy line,” broadcaster SVT reports.
Finland’s parliament discussed the possibility of the country looking to join that NATO alliance after a citizens’ initiative demanded a debate on the issue. https://t.co/QEBXNJ2V7k
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 2, 2022
After stating that Russia was destabilizing the situation in Europe, Andersson commented on Finland’s ongoing discussion on NATO membership saying, “The basis of the European security order is the right of each country to choose its own security policy line. This applies to Sweden and Finland. On the other hand, we work very closely with Finland militarily, but also politically, and are currently in daily contact with the Finnish government.”
Finland, which like Sweden is a traditionally neutral country, has seen a surge of support among the public to the idea of joining NATO, with 53 per cent of Finns supporting joining the alliance, up from just 19 per cent in 2017.
The Swedish Prime Minister did, however, note that the country had shipped weapons to Ukraine, the first time the country has sent weapons to a country in conflict since sending weapons to Finland in 1939 during that country’s conflict with the Soviet Union (USSR).
“We have really shown our independence in this crisis, including by making the historic decision to send weapons to Ukraine. It shows that the Swedish government is serious about us deciding for ourselves how we act,” Anderson said.
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