Sweden officially became the new 32nd member of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The White House announced this in the statement.

“Sweden is a strong democracy with a highly capable military that shares our values and vision for the world. Having Sweden as a NATO Ally will make the United States and our Allies even safer. NATO is the most powerful defensive alliance in the history of the world, and it is as critical today to ensuring the security of our citizens as it was 75 years ago when our Alliance was founded out of the wreckage of World War II,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson emphasized.

On March 5, Militarnyi reported that Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok signed a protocol ratifying Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Hungarian lawmakers approved Sweden’s accession to NATO on February 26, 2024.

Sweden’s path to NATO membership

Sweden applied for NATO membership in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and most Allies quickly ratified its accession.

There were issues with obtaining ratification from two countries, Turkey and Hungary.

However, the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban faced pressure from NATO allies to approve Sweden’s accession to the Alliance as soon as possible.

Even after the parliament’s decision, Sweden’s final membership in NATO was artificially delayed as Hungary did not send the ratification document to Washington, explaining that it was due to presidential elections in the country.

Hungary remained the only member of the alliance that did not approve Sweden’s membership, although Budapest repeatedly assured that it would be ready to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO as soon as Turkey did.

Ankara changed its decision after EU officials agreed to resume negotiations on Turkey’s accession to the alliance and to ease U.S. sanctions on the sale of military technology.

In particular, one of the key agreements was the approval of the sale of U.S. F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.