Defense ministers in Norway, Finland and Sweden will talk about security at Thursday’s meeting
By Eilís Quinn
“Sweden and Norway are very close partners for us and it is natural to discuss the change of our security environment with them,” Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said in a statement on Wednesday.
The meeting of the three defense ministers will focus on defense cooperation and security.
“Finland’s and Sweden’s upcoming membership in NATO opens up new opportunities to deepen relations between the Nordic countries,” Kaikkonen said. “It is very important that we stick together during these unpredictable times – this creates stability in northern Europe.”
Finland and Sweden both applied for NATO membership this year in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Twenty-three of the 30 NATO allies have ratified the two countries’ applications. Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungry, Greece and Turkey are the seven remaining countries.
Turkey had been vocal in its opposition to recognizing Finland and Sweden, saying the two countries were soft on groups Turkey considers security threats. But a memorandum of understanding was signed between the three countries in June resulted in Turkey lifting its veto. The memorandum is reported to cover arms exports and cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
Meeting with Sweden and Turkey on Friday
The NATO applications will also be high on the agenda for the bilateral meetings scheduled for Thursday.
Finland and Sweden will discuss bilateral defense and the NATO membership process.
Finland’s meeting with Norway will also focus on the NATO membership process as well as F-35 procurement and materiel and industrial cooperation.
Finland then is hosting a NATO meeting with Turkey and Sweden on Friday.
This story is posted on the Barents Observer as part of Eye on the Arctica collaborative partnership between public and private circumpolar media organizations.