The leaders of the two Nordic states have met to discuss regional security in view of the conflict in Ukraine
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson have expanded their country’s possible NATO bid following bilateral security talks in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Helsinki’s decision on whether to apply for the US-led military bloc or not “will happen pretty quickly” said Marin during a joint press conference. “It will happen in weeks, not months.”
Finland, like Sweden, had pursued a policy of not joining any military alliances, however “everything had changed” after the launch of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, she pointed out.
Marin said she wanted a consensus to be reached on NATO membership in Finnish political circles. “All parliamentary groups and even the president will have the opportunity to make decisions in the coming weeks,” she said, adding that MEPs will hear from a number of security experts on the issue.
Andersson said that Sweden would not rush the decision to join NATO, but promised a thorough but still faster assessment of the security situation.
“This is an important time in history,” she said, referring to the events in Ukraine. “The security landscape has completely changed.”
“We must think about what is best for Sweden, for our security and peace.” added the Prime Minister.
Earlier on Wednesday, Svenska Dagbladet claimed that Andersson’s goal was to submit the Swedish application to join NATO this June. However, the Prime Minister refused to confirm the report when asked by reporters.
On Monday, the British newspaper Times reported, with reference to American officials, that the Finnish application for the bloc is expected in June, and Sweden will follow shortly thereafter.
Russia, Finland and Sweden all have access to the Baltic Sea, with a divided Russian-Finnish land border extending over about 1,340 km.
Also on Wednesday, Moscow has denied allegations of Russian threats, which are used by Helsinki and Stockholm to justify their aspirations to become NATO members.
“They are in the sphere of propaganda and provocations. They go against the national interests of these countries,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova insisted.
The Kremlin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Sky News last week that Moscow – despite opposing all NATO expansion – did not see the possible membership of Finland and Sweden in the bloc as an existential threat. Such a turnaround would only require Russia to survive “Western flank more sophisticated in ensuring our safety,” he pointed out.
Russia launched a large-scale offensive against Ukraine in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk Accords signed in 2014, and Russia’s final recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French mediated Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions a special status within the Ukrainian state.
Moscow has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kyiv insists that the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied allegations that it planned to retake the two rebel regions by force.