Putin wanted less NATO, Sweden and Finland will end up giving him more of it: Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson

Stockholm: Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Monday that her country has applied for NATO membership.

Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Monday that Sweden will join Finland in seeking NATO membership. The move comes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sweden's announcement tears up decades of a historic shift that comes after more than 200 years of military nonalignment in the Nordic country.

The move, which is likely to upset Russian President Vladimir Putin, came after neighbouring Finland announced on Sunday that it too would seek to join the 30-country military alliance.

"We will inform NATO that we want to become a member of the alliance," Andersson said while adding, "Sweden needs formal security guarantees that come with membership in NATO."

The announcement came after a debate in the Riksdagen, or parliament, earlier Monday, showed that there is a huge support for joining NATO. Out of Sweden's eight parties, only two smaller left-leaning parties opposed it.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he won't allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO because of their stances on Kurdish militants.