Sweden has gotten guarantees from the US that it will receive support throughout the period when a potential application to join Nato is processed by the alliance's 30 members, foreign minister Ann Linde said Wednesday in Washington.

Sweden and its neighbor Finland were outside Nato during the cold war. Still, Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of Ukraine have prompted the countries to reconsider their security policies, with Nato membership seeming increasingly possible.

Both countries are concerned about their vulnerability throughout the application process, which could take up to a year to complete.

"Of course, I'm not going into detail, but I'm confident that we now have an American assurance," Linde told Swedish television from Washington, following a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"However, not concrete security guarantees," she continued. "Those can be obtained only as a full member of Nato."

Linde refused to disclose the nature of the assurances she had obtained from Blinken.

"They would mean that Russia can be certain that if they conduct any negative activities against Sweden, as they have threatened, they will not be tolerated by the US," she said.

Sweden's defense minister warned last month that an application might prompt a range of Russian reactions, including cyberattacks and hybrid measures – such as misinformation operations – to undermine Sweden's security.

Moscow has threatened that if Sweden and Finland join Nato, it may place nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the European exclave of Kaliningrad.

Linde, who will now fly to Canada to address security issues with the country's administration, stated that the US firmly supports Sweden and Finland joining Nato, which would boost stability in the Baltic and Arctic regions.

Sweden and Finland are likely to decide this month on whether to apply for Nato membership.