Sweden and Finland to Join NATO due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has motivated the remaining European countries to join NATO.
Instead of putting the rest of Europe on notice that Russia will not tolerate NATO expansion in Europe, it is pushing countries that were ambivalent about the alliance into realizing that NATO membership is what could have deterred Russia from invading Ukraine, and that if they do not join NATO soon, they could be the next country for Russia to bully or invade.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, the prime ministers of Finland and Sweden stated that Russia’s war in Ukraine has changed the “whole security landscape” and has “dramatically shaped mindsets” within their countries, in favor of membership within the NATO alliance.
FINLAND TO JOIN NATO
Sanna Marin, prime minister of Finland, announced on 4/13/2022 that Finland will decide to join NATO “quite fast, in weeks not months”.
- Finland has a 810 mile long border with Russia, and while Finland has a modern military, membership in NATO would be a strong deterrent to Russia.
- While not yet announcing a final decision, Prime Minister Marin stated that Finland needs “to be very frank about consequences and the risks. There are both short-term and more long-term risks. These risks are there both if we apply and if we do not apply.”
SWEDEN TO JOIN NATO
Magdalena Andersson, prime minister of Sweden, announced that there was no point in further delay in applying for membership in NATO. February 24th, the day that Russia invaded Ukraine was a turning point and “a very important time in history. The security landscape has completely changed. We have to analyse the situation to see what is best for Sweden’s security, for the Swedish people, in this new situation.”
SWEDEN and FINLAND are already NATO Partners
While they are not currently NATO members, Sweden and Finland are NATO partners, who exchange intelligence with NATO and take part in joint NATO military exercises. Therefore, a shift from being a NATO partner to a full NATO member is a relatively small step in terms of implementation, though it will be a very significant geopolitical change.
The Difference Between a NATO Partner and NATO Member
Sweden and Finland want the security guarantee that full NATO membership will provide. Speaking at the joint meeting with Finland’s prime minister, Prime Minister Andersson explained the benefit of full NATO membership clearly:
“The difference between being a partner and a member is very clear, and will remain so. There is no other way to have security guarantees than under NATO’s deterrence and common defence as guaranteed by the alliance’s Article 5.”
Russia May Face an All-NATO Baltic Region
Every country facing the Baltic Sea except for Sweden, Finland, and Russia are already members of NATO. With Sweden and Finland to join NATO as full members, every non-Russian country in the Baltic area will be part of NATO (Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Denmark). This is the nightmare that Putin dreamed about, and which is likely to happen as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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