NATO logo in front of Brussels headquartersMOSCOW, Apr 25Sweden has received «specific promises» from the United States and Britain regarding security guarantees as the decision to join NATO is being made in Stockholm, Aftonbladet newspaper reported, citing government sources. Last week, a member of the Swedish parliament from the Social Democratic Party Hans Hoff said that Sweden should receive security guarantees from the United States at a time when a decision is being made in Stockholm on the country's possible accession to NATO. >Turkey warned about the collapse of NATO after the entry of Sweden and Finland «Sweden received specific promises from the United Kingdom and the United States for protection during the process of applying to NATO,» writes Aftonbladet. «The government received information from the United States and the United Kingdom, in particular , about what protection and support might look like during a possible application process… These include strong political support from NATO Allies, in-depth exercises, increased NATO presence in the Baltic Sea region, enhanced intelligence cooperation and expert support for identifying and countering hybrid, cyber and conventional threats,» a government source told the newspaper. On Monday, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported that Finland and Sweden will apply for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance simultaneously between May 16 and 20. Later, the Swedish newspaper Expressen confirmed the information of the Finnish media. bilateral channels warned Finland and Sweden about the consequences of their entry into NATO. The department added that Sweden and Finland should understand the consequences for bilateral relations with Russia, as well as how this will affect the European security system. Finland and Sweden started talking about the possibility of abandoning many years of neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine . The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that the alliance would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to quickly join. NATO expects these countries to make their own decisions about possible membership in the coming «months and weeks,» US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance.
