The UK extends the security guarantee to future NATO members Sweden and Finland
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Britain promised to defend Sweden if the country were to be attacked, where Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Magdalena Andersson signed a security agreement outside Stockholm on Wednesday.
Sweden and Finland are considering joining NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February. Johnson is later expected to make a similar defense commitment to Finland, where he will meet with President Sauli Niinisto.
From the archive (April 2022): Sweden and Finland prepare simultaneous applications for NATO membership: reports
And (April 2022): The Nordic neighbors Sweden and Finland are taking important steps towards future NATO membership
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 kilometer long, or 830 km long, 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.”
The Kremlin has warned of “military and political repercussions” if Sweden and Finland decide to join NATO. 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. The two Nordic countries are expected to announce their positions on NATO membership in the coming days.
He met Andersson in Harpsund, the Swedish prime ministers’ country trips, which are located about 90 kilometers 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: Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Norway.
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 that it can work with NATO, the UN or other multinational coalitions. Fully operational since 2018, the force has carried out a number of exercises both independently and in collaboration with NATO.
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