On Saturday, the Prime Ministers of Finland and Sweden, Sanna Marin and Magdalena Andersson, agreed to boost bilateral security cooperation amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine but remained evasive about their intention of joining North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Pääministeri Sanna Marin ja Ruotsin pääministeri Magdalena Andersson tapaavat parhaillaan Helsingissä. He keskustelevat Euroopan turvallisuustilanteesta, talouskysymyksistä sekä muista ajankohtaisista EU-asioista.@MarinSanna @SwedishPM
— Valtioneuvosto | Statsrådet (@valtioneuvosto) March 5, 2022
🇫🇮 🇸🇪 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/hzFxILAmut
In a joint press conference with her Swedish counterpart in Helsinki, Marin said, “Russia’s war against a sovereign European nation puts the European security order at risk. In this changing security environment, Finland and Sweden will further strengthen our cooperation.”
Along these same lines, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, said last week: “Our current position is that the non-alignment and very close cooperation with NATO has been serving us well [...] and then we should, after the crisis, look at what our judgement is.”
Meanwhile, after a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stated that the United States (US) and the Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—would bolster their security and defence cooperation, once again hinting at possible NATO membership.
A press release by the White House stated that both sides discussed measures to strengthen bilateral relations and shore up defences in northern Europe. The leaders discussed transatlantic coordination to impose sanctions on Russia for its “unprovoked and unjustified” invasion of Ukraine. Crucially, they also touched on the significance of “NATO’s Open Door policy.”
Today I welcomed President Niinistö of Finland to the White House to talk about European security. During our meeting, we called PM Magdalena Andersson of Sweden to discuss enhancing our cooperation. Both countries are valued defense partners to the United States and NATO. pic.twitter.com/F15RdYcdpa
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 5, 2022
Likewise, Sweden, which has been long governed by the Social Democrats, has also hinted at a shift in its previous resistance to joining the Alliance. “The security situation has been altered in a dramatic way. I have met the party leaders from the other Swedish parties several times in the last week, and we are discussing a number of issues,” Andersson said.
The meeting between the Prime Ministers of Finland and Sweden comes after Moscow threatened them with dire political and military consequences if they joined NATO. On February 25, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had said, “It’s obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is, first of all, a military organisation, it will entail serious military-political consequences, which would require retaliatory steps by the Russian Federation.”
However, both countries have closely cooperated with NATO. In fact, their representatives were invited to NATO’s foreign ministers’ meeting held on Friday to discuss the Ukraine crisis. Regarding NATO membership, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the countries could become members quickly if they decided to apply for membership.
Historically, Sweden and Finland share strong bilateral ties and military cooperation, including joint exercises and information sharing. Finland, in particular, is wary of Russia, with which it shares a 1,340-kilometre land border and has historically maintained friendly relations. Therefore, Helsinki has until now decided to stay out of NATO to avoid conflict with Moscow.
However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to countries reviewing their stance on NATO membership. According to a poll conducted by public broadcaster Yle, 53% of Finns favour the idea of joining NATO. Likewise, a survey conducted by broadcaster SVT in Sweden revealed that 41% of Swedes support the idea of NATO membership, and 35% oppose it.