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Swedish government made a decision on accession to NATO — PM

Sweden’s envoy to NATO will soon present the application to the alliance, Magdalena Andersson informed

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson EPA-EFE/HENRIK MONTGOMERY

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson

© EPA-EFE/HENRIK MONTGOMERY

STOCKHOLM, May 16. /TASS/. The government of Sweden made an official decision that Sweden will file an application for NATO membership, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced Monday.

"The vast majority of votes in the Riksdag (parliament) favored Sweden’s accession to NATO," she said. "During the meeting Monday, the government made a decision to apply for NATO membership. Sweden’s envoy to NATO will soon present the application to the alliance. Then, Sweden will confirm its intention and ability to become a member of the defense alliance by filing a written statement."

Andersson believe that accession to NATO is the best thing for Sweden’s security.

"We are living in a dangerous time. Russia will not like the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO," Andresson believes. "Both Sweden and Finland must be ready for difficult months; we are saying this not to cause concerns, but to attract attention. Nobody can rule out that hardships are coming, even if they are not serious."

According to the Prime Minister, Sweden will file its application together with Finland. After that, a process of ratification of the application by parliaments of 30 NATO member states will be launched. After that, the Riksdag will also need to approve the accession protocol. The entire accession process is expected to take up to one year, although many believe that it may happen much faster.

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