Britain signs agreement promising to defend Sweden if attacked | NATO Review
Sweden fears an attack from Russia in the interim if the country applies to join NATO.
The United Kingdom has pledged to defend Sweden if the country were to be attacked, with Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Magdalena Andersson signing a security agreement outside Stockholm.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday when Sweden and Finland are considering joining NATO following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
Andersson said that Russia would increase its “military presence in this region if Sweden and / or Finland submit an application”.
Should they apply, there will be an interim period from the time an application is submitted until all 30 NATO member parliaments have ratified it.
Johnson is later expected to make a similar defense commitment to Finland, where he will meet with President Sauli Niinisto.
The agreement will “strengthen northern Europe’s defense, in the face of renewed threats,” Johnson said in a statement, adding that it “is a symbol of the eternal assurance of our nations.”
“This is not a short-term stop, but a long-term commitment to strengthen military ties and global stability, and strengthen Europe’s defense for future generations,” Johnson said in the statement.
Finland shares a 1,340 km (830 km) land border with Russia.
“And whether it is in the event of a disaster or a military attack, what we are saying today is that, at the request of the other party, we would come to the aid of the other parties,” Johnson said at a joint news conference. He said the war in Ukraine was Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s bloodthirsty campaign against a sovereign nation.”
Andersson said: “Putin thought he could cause division, but he has achieved the opposite. We stand here today more united than ever.”
Deployments of British troops
Johnson met Andersson in Harpsund, Sweden’s prime minister’s country home, located about 90 km (55 miles) southwest of Stockholm.
Johnson, who said Putin was “a tyrant from the 21st century”, also offered during his one-day visit to increase the deployment of British troops and military assets to the region.
The United Kingdom is already present in the Baltic Sea areas with the Joint Expeditionary Force, which consists of 10 northern European nations: Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway together with the United Kingdom.
In 2017, Sweden and Finland joined the British-led military rapid reaction force, which is designed to be more flexible and respond faster than the larger NATO alliance.
It uses NATO standards and doctrines, so it can work in cooperation with NATO, the UN or other multinational coalitions. Fully operational since 2018, the forces have carried out a number of exercises independently and in collaboration with NATO.