Sweden and Finland are considering NATO membership after the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted Finland and Sweden to consider joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but Russia has warned of the move.
Keyword:
- Reports indicate that the two Nordic countries can join as early as June
- Sweden’s government party has so far rejected membership in NATO
- It says that Russia’s invasion fundamentally changed the security situation
Russia said on Monday local time that Sweden’s and Finland’s possible accession to NATO’s military alliance would not create stability in Europe.
“We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool focused on confrontation and that its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic party, which has so far rejected membership in NATO, is reviewing its international security policy in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is said on Monday.
The Social Democrats, the largest party in parliament and governing as a one-party minority government, have consistently rejected calls to join NATO, arguing that military freedom of alliance has served the country well.
But an increasingly belligerent Russia has forced a concern over the political spectrum in both Sweden and neighboring Finland, which is also outside the 30-member NATO alliance.
The daily DN quoted the Social Democrats’ party secretary Tobias Baudin as saying that the review would be completed before the summer.
Finland is expected to describe its path regarding NATO in the coming weeks, with reports that the two countries can join as early as June.
The ruling party urges its members to reconsider NATO’s stance
The Social Democrats reaffirmed their policy of military freedom of alliance in November last year and their stance is widely seen as the biggest obstacle to applying for NATO membership.
“The Social Democrats are the key [to membership]says Peter Esaiasson, professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.
Four center-right opposition parties support a NATO application, in which the leader of a fifth said he wanted his party to support accession if Finland also went ahead.
The Left Party and the Green Party are against membership.
The Social Democrats said the review was more than a discussion on whether or not to join NATO, and aimed to give members the opportunity to express their views on all aspects of security policy.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and the party leadership can still decide to apply to join NATO without the support of membership “if the need for a different security policy arises during [review] process “, said the Social Democrats.
Finland is making a rapid U-turn against NATO
At the end of last week, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that Finland would clarify its next steps regarding a possible decision to apply for NATO membership in the coming weeks.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, opinion polls commissioned by the Finnish media have shown a rapid turnaround in public opinion in Finland, and the majority are now in favor of joining the US-led NATO.
Finland, an EU member state, shares a 1,300 km long border with Russia.
Mr Haavisto said Russia’s invasion had shown that Russia was willing to take increasing risks in its military operations, could quickly mobilize more than 100,000 troops against a neighboring country and had more openly than before discussed the possible use of its nuclear and biological weapons.
“There we come to a situation where we may need cooperation,” Haavisto said, referring to NATO.
He added that NATO member countries have offered to help Finland ensure security during an application process and said that they estimate that it would take from four months to a year to approve the application.
“It is an important NATO summit in Madrid in June. Of course, NATO is wondering if Finland and possibly Sweden will have submitted their membership applications before then,” Haavisto said.
He said that next week the government will give the Finnish parliament a review of how Russia’s decision to attack Ukraine has changed Finland’s security.
But he added that the government was prepared to quickly propose joining NATO if there was enough support from parliament.
Reuters