Sweden's flag will not be the only blue and yellow at the Alliance headquarters. At the moment, NATO and Ukraine have become closer than ever, according to the head of the NATO Military Committee, Robert Bauer.
"Together, we are putting everything into place to make Ukraine a member of our Alliance. The Swedish flag will not be the only blue and yellow flag at the NATO headquarters. Why? Because we all believe in the power of democracy. That is what is at stake here," he says.
According to the admiral, his visit to Kyiv on March 21 is evidence of the fact that "NATO and Ukraine are closer than they have ever been"
"With every day that passes, we become closer. More interoperable. More intertwined," he emphasizes.
The head of the NATO committee also notes that Russia's war against Ukraine was never linked to any real security threat originating from Ukraine or NATO.
"Russia’s war against Ukraine has never been about any real security threat coming from either Ukraine or NATO. This war is about President Putin fearing something much more powerful than any physical weapon on earth: democracy. If people in Ukraine can have democratic rights… real democratic rights… then people in Russia will soon crave them too. That is what this war is actually about," he states.
Sweden's entry into NATO
Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Alliance on March 7. It became the 32nd member of NATO. The Swedish flag was raised near the NATO headquarters in Brussels on March 11. The ceremony was attended, in particular, by the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.
Türkiye opposed the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO due to their support for the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which Ankara considers a terrorist organization.
Finland officially became a member of NATO on April 4, 2023. The country's flag was also raised near the NATO headquarters.