Sweden joins ‘NATO lake’ on Moscow’s doorstep

Sweden is set to finally join NATO on Thursday, meaning the Western defense alliance has nearly ringed the entire Baltic Sea, a significant oil trading route for Russia and home to one of its fleets, Report informs via The Financial Times.

“The Baltic Sea becomes a NATO lake,” said Krišjānis Kariņš, Latvia’s foreign minister and a self-declared candidate to head NATO.

As it formally becomes the 32nd member of the US-led alliance during a ceremony in Washington, Sweden brings with it the mid-Baltic island of Gotland — dubbed a “giant aircraft carrier” — which makes the defense of the three small Baltic states easier.

Sweden and Finland joining NATO was all but unthinkable three years ago. But when Russian tanks started rolling towards Kyiv in February 2022, the two Nordic countries woke up to what Moscow could do to its neighbors who were not members of the military alliance. Finland’s accession was completed last year, while Stockholm’s bid was held up by Türkiye and Hungary.

Former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt said his country joining NATO “is going to substantially increase the bang for the buck in defense and deterrence in northern Europe”.

“For many years, we have been split up. Now, we need to think in more unified terms,” Bildt added.