The head of the Swedish delegation in Brussels told reporters that progress is unlikely before Turkish elections, scheduled for 14 May. The latest round of trilateral talks between Finland, Sweden and Turkey over stalled applications by the two Nordic nations to join the Nato military alliance concluded on Thursday eveningContinue Reading
The military’s intelligence and security service, known as Must said on Monday that Sweden is safer after applying to join Nato, stating that Sweden had received bilateral security assurances from several countries while the membership was still pending. But at the same time, Sweden’s military intelligence said that Russia’s militaryContinue Reading
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö meets on Wednesday with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe. The foreign and defence ministers of all three countries, including Pekka Haavisto (Green) and Mikko Savola (Cen) from Finland, will also participate in the mini-summit. The three-way Nordic conference willContinue Reading
The prime minister of Sweden has warned against delinking his country’s Nato membership bid from Finland’s, after the alliance acknowledged for the first time that the two might have to join separately owing to Turkey’s obstruction. Ulf Kristersson said in an interview that for strategic reasons, the two membership applicationsContinue Reading
Denmark’s Leopard 2 tanks are training alongside the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) this week in Lääne County. President Alar Karis visited the exercise on Wednesday. While military training exercises are often held in Estonia among NATO allies and the EDF, this event is unusual as the targets are located atContinue Reading
Spain will deploy NASAMS air defense systems to Estonia for four months to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank after the two countries struck a deal on Tuesday. Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur (Reform) and Minister of Defense of Spain Margarita Robles made the agreement on the sidelines of the NATO defenseContinue Reading
Estonia’s defense cooperation with Finland and Sweden is already very good, and it will not be damaged by delays in the two countries’ accession to NATO, said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) on Tuesday. “Our security cooperation with both Finland and Sweden is very strong. We are in theContinue Reading
Complicated talks with Turkey have dampened neither the Swedish government’s desire nor the desire of the Swedish people to join NATO, that country’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström says. When it comes to joining the alliance, Sweden also sees contributing to the defense of the Baltic States as one of itsContinue Reading
Finland’s parliamentary parties, with the exception of the Left Alliance, have reached a broad consensus on proceeding with Nato legislation before the end of this parliamentary term. Although the governing coalition partner the Left Alliance is opposed to moving ahead in the accession process without Nordic neighbour Sweden, the partyContinue Reading
Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö said on Tuesday that Finland is proceeding with its Nato process in “complete understanding” with Sweden. Niinistö noted that the two Nordic nations have received different types of messages from Turkey about their Nato membership ratifications. Finland’s President was speaking on Tuesday during a press conferenceContinue Reading