STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) — The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway pledged to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store met on Wednesday in Harpsund, approximately 12 miles southwest of Stockholm.
Harpsund is a refuge for Sweden’s prime minister. The three discussed common security challenges and cooperation in foreign, security and defense policy matters.
A statement from the Swedish government released on Wednesday stated that the security situation had deteriorated due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
“Norway, Finland and Sweden, together with our Nordic neighbors, have a shared responsibility to respond to security challenges in the region, including in our northern areas,” the statement said, adding that as Sweden and Finland are about to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), “we are working in a more integrated way to strengthen security.”
“We will continue to deepen our cooperation in large-scale exercises in the coming years. Our defense cooperation is closely coordinated with our Nordic neighbors and our close partners, including the US and the UK,” it said.
“Our countries’ northernmost regions are more sparsely populated than other areas and their climate and geography present particular challenges. At the same time, there is great potential for in-depth cooperation in these areas, given their location and unique conditions for cooperation on the green transition, space and the extraction of rare earths,” it said.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Their accession to NATO requires the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkey and Hungary, both members of NATO, have not yet given their approval.
Source: sn.dk