Sweden and Finland add security for NATO, solidarity with Russia
Vladimir Putin has left his mark on history, but not the legacy he intends to leave behind.
He has strengthened the Western alliance and added significant partners outside Europe in solidarity with his terrible invasion and brutality against Ukraine, a sovereign democratic nation. Putin has provided the opportunity for more interoperability in communications and consultations for the joint effort of some 40 like-minded countries to support Ukraine’s defense. This partnership provides Ukraine with arms and humanitarian aid in unparalleled quantities.
Putin’s actions not only create resistance to his own aggression, but they also prepare the free world for the next threat. This coordination between Western nations will be perfected for a future framework if another autocrat decides to invade another free country or take territory to change his government by force.
The world has experienced an increase in dictatorships over the past 10 to 15 years. After Russia invaded Ukraine, NATO convened a wide range of partners to uphold a fundamental principle: People have the freedom to choose the governance that would apply to their sovereign country.
The incomprehensible abuse of Ukraine has driven the leaders and the public in Finland, which has a 800 km long border with Russia, to reconsider their long-standing, cautious policy of neutrality towards Russia. Sweden is coming too.
However, these nations are not starting a new relationship with NATO. In fact, these two sister nations have had the closest relationship with the alliance of all non-NATO allies. Their leaders have participated in numerous meetings with NATO defense and foreign ministers over the years, and their strong military has been a significant contributor to NATO missions, most recently in Afghanistan. Finland has announced its purchase of 64 F-35 fighter jets, which will enable its air force to be interoperable with the NATO air force on the Alliance’s air missions. Finland’s plans will enable the country to achieve the Alliance’s target of committing member states to 2% of gross domestic product in defense spending. Sweden will also reach that goal in 2028.
Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO will strengthen the important priority that NATO gives to the High North. When these two Nordic countries join their regional NATO allies Norway and Denmark, they will form a bulwark for this NATO-declared area of operations.
Previously frozen parts of the Arctic Ocean have warmed up. Both Russian and Chinese submarines and icebreaker vessels have operated in these waters, and have even ventured out into the Atlantic. In fact, China has announced that it will expand its Global Belt and Road Initiative into the Arctic, seek ports in Greenland to add to its growing European port infrastructure, and seek to expand its economic presence in Iceland.
Sweden and Finland will also provide much-needed presence in the Baltic Sea; The accession of the two new allies will build additional intelligence and military strength to support NATO’s neighbors Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Russia has adopted a pattern of threats as a country seeks to join the NATO alliance. The last two participants, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia, were the subject of massive cyber-attacks and disinformation campaigns, designed to sow the seeds of public dissatisfaction with the decision to become a Western ally. There was even a 2016 murder plot against Milo Djukanovic, Montenegro’s provost prime minister. After Russia strongly warned Finland not to join NATO (to which Finnish President Sauli Niinistö replied: “If you want to see why we are applying for NATO membership, look in the mirror”), Putin seems to have softened his tone. But that can change. Putin’s mood is not a reliable basis for any nation’s foreign policy, including his own.
For all these reasons, NATO must accept Sweden and Finland as soon as possible. Also for these reasons, Turkey and all other NATO allies that may consider delaying the accession of Finland and Sweden based on bilateral issues that are completely irrelevant to the accession should consider the possibility of strengthening the alliance as their first priority.
The addition of these two highly advanced, military-capable countries would result in a more secure Europe and will also strengthen the transatlantic bond with Canada and the United States, which underpins NATO’s deterrent effect. Most importantly, the enhanced alliance solidarity that will result from Finnish and Swedish accession should encourage all autocratic leaders with plans to disrupt another free country to re-evaluate the benefits of doing so in light of the high costs that the alliance could not only put on his military. power, but to its economy, prosperity and social cohesion.
Kay Bailey Hutchison is a former US Senator and US Ambassador to NATO. Dov S. Zakheim is a former inspector at the Ministry of Defense. They both work as senior advisors at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. They wrote this for The Dallas Morning News.