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Sweden's ruling Social Democrats were poised on Sunday to come out in favour of the country joining NATO, paving the way for an application soon after and abandoning decades of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A distant prospect only months ago, Russia's attack on its smaller neighbour has seen both Sweden and Finland rethink their security needs and move to seek out safety in the alliance they stood apart from throughout the long years of the Cold War.
The war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation but which has already killed thousands and displaced millions, shattered long-standing security policies and fuelled a wave of public support for NATO membership in both countries.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats, the biggest party in every election for the past century, has held internal debates over the past week over dropping a long-standing opposition to NATO membership.
With party leadership having said it will decide on Sunday, and widely expected to drop its opposition, support for joining the alliance would command a broad majority in Sweden's Riksdag with much of the opposition already in favour. A formal application by Andersson's minority government would be sure to follow.
At peace since the days of the Napoleonic wars, Sweden has been more reluctant to cast aside its non-alignment than Finland, which fought a bloody conflict with the Soviet Union in the 20th century.
A distant prospect only months ago, Russia's attack on its smaller neighbour has seen both Sweden and Finland rethink their security needs and move to seek out safety in the alliance they stood apart from throughout the long years of the Cold War.
The war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a special military operation but which has already killed thousands and displaced millions, shattered long-standing security policies and fuelled a wave of public support for NATO membership in both countries.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Social Democrats, the biggest party in every election for the past century, has held internal debates over the past week over dropping a long-standing opposition to NATO membership.
With party leadership having said it will decide on Sunday, and widely expected to drop its opposition, support for joining the alliance would command a broad majority in Sweden's Riksdag with much of the opposition already in favour. A formal application by Andersson's minority government would be sure to follow.
At peace since the days of the Napoleonic wars, Sweden has been more reluctant to cast aside its non-alignment than Finland, which fought a bloody conflict with the Soviet Union in the 20th century.
