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Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson AP/PA Images

Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party backs NATO bid

The turnaround comes amid soaring political and public support in Sweden for joining the Western military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

SWEDEN’S RULING SOCIAL Democratic Party has said it is in favour of joining NATO, reversing its decades-long opposition and paving the way for the country to submit a membership application.

The turnaround comes amid soaring political and public support in Sweden for joining the Western military alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The issue has divided Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s Social Democrats, with some party members expressing concern that the decision was being rushed through.

The party said today that if Sweden’s application were approved, it would work to express “unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory.”

The announcement came just hours after neighbouring Finland announced its official intention to apply for membership.

The two countries have expressed a desire to act in unison and submit their applications jointly, in a move seen as a deterrent against aggression from Russia.

A security policy review by the parties in Sweden’s parliament presented on Friday concluded that Swedish NATO membership would reduce the risk of conflict in northern Europe.

The report stopped short of offering a concrete recommendation on whether to join, but noted that it was “not realistic to develop bilateral defence alliances outside existing European and Euro-Atlantic structures.”

It also noted that “within the framework of current cooperation, there is no guarantee that Sweden would be helped if it were the target of a serious threat or attack.”

Sweden, which was neutral in World War II, has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years, though it has forged closer ties with NATO since the 1990s.

NATO has pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine, as Finland hailed its “historic” bid to join the alliance and with Western claims that Russia had suffered heavy losses in its push east.

The promise came after Finland jettisoned decades of military non-alignment for a bulwark against Russia, redrawing the balance of power in Europe and angering the Kremlin.

On the ground in Ukraine, Russia announced air strikes in the east, as well as in Lviv, near the Polish border in the west which has largely been spared the destruction of elsewhere.

© AFP 2022

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    Mute Stephen Kearon
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    May 15th 2022, 5:25 PM

    Good, let’s hope Ireland shows similar bravery and stops pretending we are neutral, and instead join with other countries to defend democracy, whilst at same time giving our defence forces much needed upgrades in equipment and staffing.

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    Mute a politicians promise is as good as a lie
    Favourite a politicians promise is as good as a lie
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    May 15th 2022, 5:33 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: let’s fix our health, housing, education and transport issues before even spending a single cent on the destruction of same…Wars are such pre-historic ways of settling disputes and Mankind has the audacity to call himself “Intelligent”…

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    Mute Richard Ahern
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    May 15th 2022, 5:41 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: Well said!

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    Mute Paul Shepherd
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    May 15th 2022, 10:38 PM

    @Stephen Kearon: dream on. We’ll continue to bury our heads in the sand in the expectation that our neutrality will save us.

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    Mute David F. Dwyer
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    May 16th 2022, 1:23 AM

    @Paul Shepherd: No one is under any illusion that “our neutrality will save us”. But we know plainly that we would have no fighting chance in a war, so why bother?

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    Mute Alan Richard Scott Jr.
    Favourite Alan Richard Scott Jr.
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    May 16th 2022, 10:56 AM

    @David F. Dwyer: eh the Irish ranger wing are among the best Spec ops in the world.

    we have a small but very capable defence forces

    we need the funding to get our military up to scratch but more important things are more important and need the money before we commit to any NATO membership.

    I would like Ireland to someday Join NATO but we have more pressing issues that need attention first.

    Someday it will happen I’m sure.

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    Mute David F. Dwyer
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    May 16th 2022, 3:47 PM

    @Alan Richard Scott Jr.: As you say, we lack the funding as it is. Joining NATO would be even more costly. Besides we don’t need to. If we were attacked the Yanks would intervene to protect their use of Shannon airport, the Brits to safeguard Northern Ireland, and European countries like France, Spain and Germany as our EU partners. On our own I really doubt we could withstand a military attack from a bigger country.

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    Mute Patrick J. Keating
    Favourite Patrick J. Keating
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    May 15th 2022, 5:11 PM

    Things not going to plan Vladimir perhaps?

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    Mute Roger Bond
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    May 15th 2022, 7:34 PM

    Ireland is not going to be left as the only EU country outside of NATO so wait for our leaders to begin the push for us to join as soon as possible.

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    Mute Maurice O Neill
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    May 15th 2022, 5:49 PM

    Won’t happen if Turkey says no . Has to be a unanimous decision by all members of NATO

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