In this way, the Swedish authorities wanted to send Moscow a "signal of deterrence," thus abandoning a long tradition of political neutrality, the politician stated.
The new agreement allows the military alliance to deploy troops in Sweden and conduct military exercises. Although Sweden is not a NATO member, it is moving closer to the Alliance, sending a warning signal to Russia, the newspaper noted.
"With the NATO agreement Sweden is signaling the end of a long tradition of political neutrality. So far, the Scandinavian country has avoided both military conflicts and alliances," the article said
However, Hultkvist noted that the country's security policy should "comply with the time," stressing that the reason for the change in Sweden's strategy is "Russian aggression in Ukraine". Although, according to Hultkvist, any attack by Russia is unlikely, he still considers it necessary to send a warning signal to Moscow.
"The government stressed that this agreement doesn't mean a NATO membership or abandonment of neutrality, but at the same time the defense minister spoke of rebuilding Sweden's ‘military capability'", the newspaper noted.
However, statistics show that the number of supporters of the alliance has been steadily growing, and finally exceeded the number of opponents in 2014. The increased willingness to enter into the military organization is now being demonstrated not only by liberals but also by moderate and centrist parties.
"Thus, the new agreement can be seen as the first step towards Sweden's full accession to the military alliance, which marked the end of a long tradition of the country's political neutrality," DWN concluded.
