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BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – At the start of her trip to Finland and Sweden, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock promised the two countries further support on their way to NATO. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has also ushered in a real turning point in the two Nordic EU countries, explained the Green politician on Monday before her departure for Helsinki, where talks with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto were first scheduled.
“After 80 years of Finnish neutrality and after 200 years of Sweden’s non-alignment, both countries have decided to join NATO. We’re continuing to work towards this together,” said Baerbock. She will emphasize that in Finland, but especially in Sweden.
After her conversation with Haavisto, Baerbock also wanted to visit an underground civil defense facility on Monday before continuing to Sweden on Tuesday. Both in Helsinki and in Stockholm, the main focus will probably be on the two countries joining NATO, which Turkey has been blocking for a long time. Help for Ukraine will also be a priority. Finland has a 1340 km border with Russia. Sweden currently plays a central role in the EU, as it took over the rotating EU Council Presidency at the turn of the year.
“Sweden and Finland are closer to us Germans than few other countries,” said Baerbock. In the EU, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), among others, there is close coordination with the northern Europeans. You share the same values. In northern Europe, people are always a little ahead when it comes to progressive ideas and innovations. The Nordic countries are also a role model with their comprehensive understanding of security.
Finland and Sweden jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022 under the impression of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. All 30 members of the defense alliance must ratify accession. 28 have already done so, only Hungary and Turkey not yet. Hungarian objections are not expected, but Turkey has been blocking NATO’s northern expansion for a long time. She justifies her position primarily with the fact that Sweden is not taking sufficient action against terrorist organizations. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan means above all the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK.
The talks could also include the planned delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine. Both Sweden and Finland have these tanks. The federal government is still looking for allies willing to deliver. Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Radio Suomi on Sunday that her government had not yet made a decision on this. Looking at the long Finnish-Russian border, she made it clear that the matter was complicated. Sweden has not yet decided on a main battle tank delivery either.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also does not rule out that his country could one day supply fighter jets to Ukraine. At the moment, however, the question is not relevant for his country, he said last week. One must keep an eye on the tense security situation at a time when Sweden has applied for NATO membership but is not yet a member. “Everyone knows it’s quite a difficult balancing act.”
On Monday, Kristersson was due to receive a visit from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in Stockholm. Poland sympathizes with delivering fighter jets to Ukraine but would only do so together with NATO allies./mfi/trs/DP/men