Swedish ruling party backs joining NATO, setting up membership application

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson stands next to the British and the Swedish flags as she waits for the arrival of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for talks in Harpsund, 120 kilometers west of Stockholm, Sweden on May 11, 2022. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP)
Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson stands next to the British and the Swedish flags as she waits for the arrival of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for talks in Harpsund, 120 kilometers west of Stockholm, Sweden on May 11, 2022. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP)

STOCKHOLM — Sweden’s ruling party says it’s in favor of joining NATO, reversing its decades-long opposition and paving the way for the country to submit a membership application.

“The Social Democrats will thereby work to ensure that Sweden, if the application is approved, expresses unilateral reservations against the deployment of nuclear weapons and permanent bases on Swedish territory,” the party says today in a statement just hours after neighboring Finland announced its official intention to apply for membership.

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