Niinistö discusses defense cooperation with Johnson, other European leaders in London | News
The summit comes when Finland and Sweden join a NATO-led military exercise in Norway, the largest of its kind in 30 years.
President Sauli Niinistö going to London on Monday for a two-day Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit, his office announced late Saturday.
Finland and Sweden are the only non-NATO countries in the 10-nation group established in 2012 as a framework for a possible future military force.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson called for the meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine and the security situation in Europe.
According to Johnson’s office, he will host the group for dinner at his country house west of London, Checkers, on Monday night. The Prime Minister will then meet “Finnish and Swedish leaders” on Downing Street in London on Tuesday afternoon. Niinistö will also hold other one-on-one talks.
The London and Checkers meetings aim to “support European security and increase defensive military support for Ukraine” and “work[ing] together on greater resilience to threats from hostile states, “it said.
JEF is a British-led multilateral framework for defense co-operation that covers the five Nordic countries, the three Baltic states and the Netherlands. All are EU members except the United Kingdom, Iceland and Norway. The group says that its main operating environment is northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region.
Leaders are expected to join an expanded program of integrated JEF exercises and activities at sea, on land and in the air in the North, North Atlantic and Baltic Sea, member states are deepening military ties and interoperability, the British government said. .
Finnish conscripts join NATO-led exercise in Norway
The summit comes when the NATO-led exercise Cold Response begins in northern Norway. More than 30,000 soldiers from 27 nations, including Britain, Finland and Sweden, will be fighting in extreme temperatures. The exercise begins on Monday and on Friday Finnish soldiers join.
Exercise Cold Response, the largest of its kind in three decades, was announced eight months ago and is not linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, NATO said.
According to the Finnish Armed Forces, the exercise is part of “deepening defense co-operation” between Finland, Sweden and Norway.
Almost 700 Finnish troops – including almost 500 conscripts – will take part in the maneuvers as part of a Swedish brigade from 18 March to 2 April.
The attack on Ukraine has stimulated debate about and public support for joining NATO in the traditionally non-aligned Finland and Sweden. However, the leaders of both countries have stated that they have no plans for immediate decisions to apply.
Finland is the only EU country outside NATO that borders Russia.
On Saturday, an official in the Russian Foreign Ministry warned of unspecified “military and political consequences” if Finland and Sweden apply for NATO membership.
Sergei Belyaev told the Russian news agency Interfax that the two countries’ non-participation in NATO was “an important factor in ensuring security and stability in northern Europe”.