Sweden’s NATO Skepticism Endures as Russia Flexes Muscles

Sweden’s top defense official said staying out of NATO remains the best security option for the country, even with an increasingly assertive Russia.

A Swedish application for NATO membership would “affect the entire security policy architecture in our part of Europe,” Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said in an interview in Stockholm on Thursday. “Above all, it puts very strong pressure on Finland, which has a long border with Russia.”