Sweden has cemented its place as a brand new member of NATO with a flag-raising ceremony.
Two troopers raised the blue banner emblazoned with a yellow cross among the many official circle of nationwide flags on the headquarters of the alliance in Brussels, Belgium.
The ceremony got here two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine persuaded Sweden’s reluctant public to hunt security beneath NATO’s safety umbrella.
The Nordic nation turns into the thirty second member of the alliance.
Under a gradual rain, Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and NATO secretary normal, Jens Stoltenberg, attended the ceremony.
Mr Kristersson stated: “We are humble, but we are also proud.
“We know the expectations for Sweden are excessive, however we even have excessive expectations for ourselves.
“We will share burdens, responsibilities and risks with our allies.”
Sweden put aside many years of post-war neutrality when it formally joined NATO final Thursday.
Its neighbour Finland joined final 12 months in one other historic transfer, ending years of army non-alignment.
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Finland’s defence ministry welcomed “our brothers and sisters in arms”, saying “now we stand at the beginning of a new era. Together and with other allies in peace, in crisis and beyond”.
President Vladimir Putin’s resolution to order Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a change in public opinion in each nations – and inside three months they’d utilized to affix the world’s largest safety organisation.
Mr Putin claimed to have launched the warfare, at the least partly, over NATO’s eastward growth in the direction of Russia, however his army transfer has solely made the alliance larger.
NATO leaders have beforehand promised Ukraine will be part of the alliance at some point – however it’s unlikely whereas the battle continues.
The flag-raising ceremony got here as 20,000 troops from 13 nations started NATO drills in northern Sweden in addition to Finland and Norway.
Source: information.sky.com”