The Foreign Ministry’s statement on Sweden’s NATO membership

On May 16, the Government of Sweden made the decision to apply for NATO membership.

Russia has repeatedly stated that the choice of ways to ensure national security is an internal affair of any country.

Stockholm’s foreign policy has been based on neutrality for over 200 years and for decades remained an important factor in ensuring stability and trust in the Baltic Sea region.

Sweden’s accession to NATO will inflict considerable damage to the security of Northern Europe and Europe as a whole. The Russian Federation will have to take response measures, both military-technical and others, to curb the threats to its national security which arise in this context. In this respect, much will depend on the specific conditions of Sweden’s integration into the North Atlantic Alliance, including the potential deployment of strike systems of this military bloc on its territory.

In any event, NATO membership will not enhance Sweden’s security if only because nobody is threatening the country. However, it will definitely lead to the loss of its sovereignty in foreign policy decision-making.

For our part, we are convinced that this choice by the politicians currently in power in Sweden does not meet the long-term interests of the Swedish people.