Sweden and EU flags. File photoMOSCOW, May 17.The first NATO officer, Norwegian Lieutenant Colonel Asle Strand, arrived in Sweden on Tuesday, the Swedish Defense Ministry said.
"In the near future, liaison officers from several NATO countries will begin service at headquarters. Lieutenant Colonel Asle Strand was the first of them at his new job,» the Swedish Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Last Sunday, Sweden's ruling Social Democratic Party announced its decision to apply for NATO membership, noting that Sweden, if approved, will oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons and military bases on its territory. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that joining NATO would have a positive impact on the security of the country and the Swedish people. On Sunday, Finland also officially decided to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niiniste, noted that abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality would be erroneous, since there are no threats to Finland's security. In his opinion, a change in the country's foreign policy could have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which for many years were built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership cooperation, were mutually beneficial. jpg» /> The Turks took up arms against Finland and Sweden because of the desire to join NATO