NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, right, and Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson shake hands during a media conference prior to a flag raising ceremony to mark the accession of Sweden to NATO at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Monday, March 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
BRUSSELS (AP) – Sweden’s national flag was raised at NATO headquarters on Monday, cementing the Nordic country’s place as the 32nd member of the alliance two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine persuaded its reluctant public to seek safety under NATO’s security umbrella.
Under a steady rain, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg looked on as two soldiers raised the blue banner emblazoned with a yellow cross among the official circle of national flags at the headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Sweden set aside decades of post-World War II neutrality when it formally joined NATO last Thursday. Its neighbor Finland joined last year in another historic move ending years of military nonalignment.
