Nearly two weeks after the first Russian tanks crossed the Ukrainian border, Russia’s invasion of the country has had a profound impact on Europe, inside and outside NATO, and especially in the case of Sweden and Finland.
The European Union implemented, in coordination with the United States, a series of sanctions against Russia, including the suspension of the Swift system, in an attempt to pressure Moscow to cease its military actions.
At the same time, Germany broke a historic tradition and announced that it would send arms shipments to Ukraine – something it refused to do during Russia’s preparation for the invasion – and Poland is trying to supply the Ukrainians with MiG-29 fighter aircraft. .
Sweden and Finland, which belong to the EU but are not part of NATO, maintain close military cooperation with each other and with the Atlantic Alliance, and are now targeted by Russia.
Helsinki and Stockholm in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Saturday that “Russia’s war against a sovereign European nation endangers the European security order”.
“In this changing security environment, Finland and Sweden will continue to strengthen their cooperation,” he added during a press conference alongside Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Reuters reported.
“The security situation has changed dramatically. I met several times in the last week with the leaders of the other Swedish parties and we are discussing a number of issues,” Andersson said.
Both countries, and especially Finland, which shares a 1,300km long border with Russia, have maintained a historic balance between NATO and Moscow, but are now open to discussing other options.
“Now we’re having this debate in Finland,” Marin said of joining NATO. “We will have these discussions in parliament, with the president, within the government and between parties.”
In a poll commissioned in Finland by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and carried out at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February, 53% said they agreed with Finland joining NATO. Two years ago, only 20% had said so, Reuters reported.
In Sweden, a similar poll conducted on Friday by Demoskop on behalf of the newspaper Aftonbladet showed that 51% were in favor of joining NATO, a significant increase from the 42% who said so in January, according to Reuters.
Russia alert
“It is obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is primarily a military organization, it would have serious military and political consequences that would force the Russian Federation to take retaliatory measures,” he said on February 25, a day after the invasion. , spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova.
“We cannot fail to notice the persistent attempts by NATO and some member states of the alliance, especially the United States of America, to attract Finland, as well as Sweden, into the alliance,” he added.
Last Tuesday, four Russian Air Force fighter jets – two Sukhoi Su-27s and two Su-24s – breached Swedish airspace east of the island of Gotland and were intercepted by Swedish Jas 39 Gripen fighter jets.
“Given the current situation, we take the incident very seriously. It is an unprofessional and irresponsible action on Russia’s part,” said Swedish Air Force chief Carl-Johan Edström.
Sweden and Finland joining NATO
Russia based much of its argument to justify the invasion of Ukraine on its concerns about the possibility of the country joining NATO, a desire of part of the population and political sectors after independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Georgia, another former Soviet republic that is also seeking NATO membership, was invaded by Russia in 2008.
In contrast, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, three other former members of the USSR, have been part of NATO since 2004, and the Atlantic Alliance maintains multinational battalions deployed there – as well as in Poland.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, told a news conference in January that the current proximity between Sweden and Finland and the organization was such that entry would be “very quick if they decide to do so”. “But at the end of the day, it will be a political decision.”
And in another press conference held on Friday, Stoltenberg said that “in response to Russia’s aggression” they decided to strengthen coordination and information exchange with Finland and Sweden.
“Both countries now participate in all NATO consultations on the crisis,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
