Swedish flag raised at NATO headquarters – video
The Swedish national flag was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels on 11 March. The country has officially become the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Source: European Pravda, citing the broadcast of the Alliance's press service
Details: The ceremony took place in the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.
As the flag was raised, a military band played the Swedish national anthem.
"After over 200 years of neutrality, you are joining the strongest and most successful military alliance in history. Welcome to NATO, we are glad to have you here," Stoltenberg said during the ceremony.
For his part, Kristersson stated that "Sweden has come home".
"Sweden is a proud member and ally of NATO, alongside our closest friends and partners. We are humble, but we are also proud. We know the expectations for Sweden are high, but we also have high expectations for ourselves," he noted.
Background:
- On 7 March, Sweden officially completed the process of becoming a full member of NATO. Sweden expected to complete the accession process together with Finland, but in the end, the process was delayed for another year.
- Initially, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stood as the main challenge, formally claiming that Sweden was providing political asylum for his political opponents and Kurdish leaders, but the real reason was Erdoğan's bargaining with the United States to acquire F-16 fighter jets.
- Then Hungary unexpectedly became an obstacle, even though Budapest did not put forward specific demands. Despite repeatedly promising not to be the last in the ratification process, Hungary completed the process after Türkiye and even then, it found a way to further delay Sweden's eventual accession to NATO.
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