Sweden is thinking of joining NATO — and Russia is threatening a military response

Sweden has maintained military neutrality for the past 200 years, but the threat of Russian aggression could bring an end to their centennials of peace. Swedish forces have already begun peacekeeping exercises, The Los Angeles Times reports, and one in three Swedes favors joining the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) in order to earn the full support of their allies in the case of an attack or threat.

Russia has increased its northern activities in the past few years and the annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in the spring of 2014 has made Swedes doubly suspicious of their nearby neighbor's motives (Sweden is separated from the Russian mainland by Finland, but shares access to the Baltic Sea). What's more, last fall, two Russian fighter bombers and a submarine entered Swedish territory uninvited.

The Russian ambassador in Sweden, however, has threatened that Moscow might react militarily were Stockholm to indeed join NATO. "Putin pointed out that there will be consequences, that Russia will have to resort to a response of the military kind and reorientate our troops and missiles," Ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper in June. "The country that joins NATO needs to be aware of the risks it is exposing itself to."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up