A key opposition party in Sweden will reportedly look to switch its stance on whether the country should join NATO if neighboring Finland applies for membership, potentially clearing the way for legislation calling to end the country’s long history of military neutrality.
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson told Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet on Saturday that he’s considering a change in stance on NATO membership in light of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. If Finland seeks to join the Brussels-based alliance, he said he will recommend that his party advocate doing the same.
If Finland applies, Akesson said, “then my ambition is to go to the party council with a request that we change our mind. What’s changed now is that Finland is very clearly moving toward a NATO membership, and there are many indications that this may happen in the near future. That, and the fact Ukraine, which is not a NATO member, is completely alone, has made me turn.”