As the Swedish government on Monday formally announced its decision to bid for NATO membership, citizens outside the country’s parliament mulled the pros and cons of abandoning almost two centuries of military non-alignment in exchange for security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Outside the parliament building, Git Lennaard, 62, waved a Swedish flag with the word “NATO” emblazoned on it, saying that she would choose NATO over Russia “every day of the week.”
On the other side of the parliament, a group of demonstrators gathered and chanted, “No to NATO!” at passing politicians as they made their way in and out of the building.
As for Russians, St Petersburg residents expressed some concerns and regrets about the decisions of Finland and Sweden.
“It is terrifying that St Petersburg and the Leningrad region will be so close to NATO’s bases,” said Natalia Vostrikova, a St Petersburg resident.
Russia said on Monday that the West should have no illusions that Moscow would simply put up with the Nordic expansion of U.S.-led NATO to include Sweden and Finland, casting the move as a mistake that would stoke military tension.
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