Sweden has officially joined the NATO military alliance, ending decades of neutrality in the midst of soaring concerns pertaining to Russia’s aggression in Europe following its invasion of Ukraine. The Nordic nation originally applied to join the military alliance in May 2022, but previously faced delays from Turkey and Hungary.

“Unity and solidarity will be Sweden’s guiding lights as a NATO member,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a statement he delivered in Washington, DC after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who received Sweden’s NATO ratification documents today.

“We will share burdens, responsibilities and risks with our allies,” he said.

At a press conference in Stockholm on Thursday, Sweden’s Minister for Employment and Integration, Johan Pehrson, labelled the accession “a new security policy era for Sweden”, adding that he had personally been waiting for such a decision for 20 years.

“We have to face the world as it is not how we sometimes wish it were,” Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, said after Hungary became the last NATO member to ratify Sweden’s accession last week.

The Swedish flag will be raised outside the military organization’s headquarters in Brussels on Monday. NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, underscored that the Nordic country “now enjoys the protection granted under Article 5, the ultimate guarantee of allies’ freedom and security.”