Deputy Secretary General at the Helsinki Security Forum: Finland and Sweden will make our alliance stronger
Addressing the Helsinki Security Forum on Friday, September 30, 2022, NATO Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoană said that the damage to two pipelines in the Baltic Sea this week is of “deep concern” and noted that all “currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage”. He said that NATO supports the ongoing investigations to determine the origin of the damage; and that “Allies have exchanged information including with Finland and Sweden in this sense”.
Speaking about Finland and Sweden’s decision to apply for NATO membership, Geoană said that “having allies on all sides of the Baltic Sea will change the strategic environment in the region and make the defense of the Baltic countries easier” and the entire north “more coherent”. “Finland and Sweden will make our alliance stronger, more resilient and more integrated in the world around us,” he stressed. Mr. Geoană gave a virtual speech to the first session of this year’s Helsinki Security Forum on the theme “Northern European Security Redone”.