...
NATO and the United States welcome Sweden and Finland into NATO - but the Swedes hold back | Abroad | The DR Defense Alliance may be heading for an expansion. But the Swedes are dragging their feet, says the correspondent. Af - If they decide to apply, then Finland and Sweden will be warmly welcomed, and I expect the process to go fast. This is the message yesterday from Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg. The two Nordic countries have for decades outside the defense alliance, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the countries have changed their minds, and the popular membership has increased significantly. And it is not only Jens Stoltenberg who opens the door wide open for the two Nordic countries. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stated yesterday that Sweden and Finland are quite welcome inside. - We will of course leave the decision to them, and if that is what they decide, we will support it , Blinken said during a hearing in the House of Representatives. Here was the message from the Foreign Minister that the two countries are strongly considering replacing neutrality with a membership, and that the United States expects to "hear more about it" before the summit at the end n of June. While Denmark and Norway have been involved since its establishment in 1949, Sweden and Finland have stayed out of defense cooperation. But the question is whether there is a landslide on the way. And that was also the big question, as The Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, today held a joint meeting with his Swedish colleague, Ann Linde, in Helsinki. would be very important if Finland and Sweden can make decisions that go in the same direction and within the same time frame, says the Finnish Foreign Minister. However, Finland seems to be ahead of Sweden in terms of decision on a possible membership. Last week, the Finn, Sanna Marrin, said that it was only a matter of weeks before Finland decided. And two weeks ago, the Finn received a 49-page report analyzing the country's possibilities in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It appears, among other things, that the invasion has fundamentally changed Finland's security situation, and that the simultaneous accession of Finland and Sweden would make it easier to prepare and respond to Russia's. But in Sweden, a similar security policy analysis is still awaited, on May 13, it sounds from Ann Linde.- Until then, we do not have a clear line for what the end result will be, says the Swedish Foreign Minister, who does not put fingers in between, that one looks a lot towards Finland.- It is clear, Sweden's decision will greatly affect Sweden's decision. Sweden is dragging its feet into it. This is the assessment of Anna Gaarslev, DR's, who follows Swedish politics closely. political analysis as a cover for the Social Democrats in Sweden.- One must simply have the party on it. We will probably see a lightning-fast change of footing in Swedish politics, because it is not many weeks ago that the Swede, Magdalena Andersson, said that it was not necessary to become a member of, says. © Type 1DR's Europe correspondent Anna Gaarslev covers, among other things, European elections and summits. - It is about this decision, which will be historic in Swedish politics, it must be anchored in the party. She points out that the issue of membership is developing into an important topic before the Swedish election in September.- It must be seen in the light of the fact that more and more Swedes are beginning to think that it makes sense to participate. The Social Democrats must acknowledge that they risk losing voters on this, says Anna Gaarslev. - The problem for Sweden is also that public opinion is somewhat more muddy than in Finland - there is not the same clear majority to get into. At the same time there is no doubt that a membership would be a huge landslide for the Swedes.- It will be a break with everything that has been Swedish for decades than I can count. Namely that you are alliance-free in peacetime and neutral in war, - she says. World War II stood with a functioning industrial sector that could deliver, while large parts of Europe lay in ruins. - One has also seen oneself as strong and skilled enough not to have to be a part of, says. Sweden's role as an international peace mediator. - It is a very difficult showdown, but it is the way that even the Swedish Social Democrats are choosing. Both Finland and Sweden have over the years trained and cooperated with, but as long as they are outside the alliance , then they are not covered by the so-called musketeer oath, where all -countries undertake to come to the rescue of a country if one is attacked. Conversely, a membership will mean that Finland risks "and various attempts at influence", have the Finnish beaten fa "We must be prepared for various atrocities that may come from the Russian side," she said earlier this month. Ann Linde's recent talk about the possibility of new Nordic members has led Russia to intervene several times. Earlier this month, Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, said that if Sweden and Finland chooses to join the defense alliance.- If Sweden and Finland join, then the alliance's border with Russia will more than double, the message from Medvedev was according to Reuters. At the same time, the Russian, Dmitry Peskov, has said that it will not bring to Europe that bring the two Nordic countries into the defense alliance.- We have said many times that the alliance remains a tool aimed at confrontation, and its continued enlargement will not bring on the European continent, At the end of last year, Russia threatened Finland if Finland became a member of it. Freedom of choice also includes allying militarily or applying for membership if we should decide to do so, the president said. Neither the Finns nor the Swedes have hidden that it is the Russian invasion of Ukraine that has made the countries discuss a possible -membership.- Everything changed when Russia invaded Ukraine. People's perceptions changed very dramatically both in Finland and in Sweden, the Swede said two weeks ago. Also in Finland, the situation has changed significantly. Earlier this month, one from the Finnish media MTV pointed out, Despite the announcement of a speedy processing of any applications from Sweden and Finland, the process of obtaining approvals from 30 other countries takes time, and there is therefore a prospect that can go up to a year before you get under the umbrella, if you say yes, it sounds from Pekka Haavisto.He says, however, that the two countries are ready to deal with "many different forms" in the meantime.