The Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that she believes that the Nordic countries will be stronger with Sweden and Finland in NATO.
Frederiksen’s statement comes after a formal invitation to NATO was sent to the countries on Wednesday 29 June, which paved the way for a stronger European front against Russia.
“I would like to warmly welcome our good neighbors Sweden and Finland to NATO,” said Frederiksen. “It will strengthen the transatlantic alliance and our common security, and the Nordic countries will stand united in NATO. That is simply good news. ”
Sweden and Finland gave up a decades-long reluctance to join NATO to announce their desire for membership in May – an act motivated by President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Turkey has been their main roadblock for accession, with NATO member Accus accusing Sweden and Finland of enabling Kurdish militantism.
Turkey dropped its opposition on Tuesday 28 June after independent negotiations with the two Nordic nations.
No more “naivety”
With the added forces from Finland and Sweden, NATO will soon be better equipped to deal with Russian tyranny – a problem that Frederiksen believes has long been underestimated.
“There is no doubt that there has been naivety for too long, which fortunately is over,” she said. “From the Russian side, we see an illegal invasion of another country and old-fashioned means of power to change the demarcation of borders in Europe.”
Frederiksen also reaffirmed Denmark’s own commitment to supporting NATO in the light of Putin’s war, despite the fact that Denmark is one of only five member states that does not allocate 2 percent or more to defense spending.
“We have not had a stronger NATO commitment than there is today,” she said. “We are making a very strong contribution to Ukraine, and our allies also recognize that.”
To date, the UN estimates that 8.4 million Ukrainians have fled Ukraine and close to 5,000 civilians have been killed.
Source: The Nordic Page