A man walks past Swedish election posters of the leader of the Social Democrats and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Loefven, Swedish Minister for Finance Magdalena Andersson (second from right) and Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (second from left) on Saturday in Stockholm. The general elections in Sweden will take place on September 9. Photo: AFP

Sweden's ruling party kicked off internal debate Monday on whether Stockholm should apply for NATO membership, unthinkable only months ago but with public support growing in the wake of Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The center-left Social Democrats, led by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, has historically opposed NATO membership but the more than six-week conflict has reignited debate in the Scandinavian kingdom.

A policy reversal for the party, which ruled for an uninterrupted 40 years between the 1930s and 1970s, would be historic and could pave the way for Sweden to apply to join NATO.

The issue is expected to be a central to parliamentary elections scheduled for September 11. Neighboring Finland, which shares a border with Russia, is gearing up for a similar policy decision by early summer.

Sweden is officially non-aligned militarily, although it is a NATO partner and abandoned its position of strict neutrality after the end of the Cold War.

Having initially stressed that non-alignment had "served Sweden's interests well," the prime minister conceded that she was ready to discuss the policy and in late March said she "did not rule out" a bid to join NATO.

The debate, open to all party members, will be "a broader discussion than the question of a yes or no to NATO membership," Tobias Baudin, Social Democrats secretary general, said in a statement.

The "security policy dialogue" should be completed before the summer, he said.

AFP