Sweden and Finland’s Nato bid ‘in weeks’ as US says Kremlin must be weakened
FINLAND and Sweden will announce plans to join Nato within weeks, it was claimed last night.
The leaders of the Nordic nations – which have neutral status – plan to meet in the week of May 16 and publicly declare they will apply to join the alliance, despite the threat of retaliatory measures from Russia.
Vladmir Putin has used the expansion of Nato as a pretext for his invasion of Ukraine, so such a move would infuriate the Kremlin.
But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Sweden and Finland to examine whether their long-standing military neutrality is still the best security policy.
It comes after Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin visited her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson earlier this month, announcing she expected Finland to make its decision ‘within weeks’.
Stockholm is conducting a review of security policy, which includes its possible Nato membership, and the results are expected by mid-May.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party is also reviewing its long-held objection to Nato membership. That decision is expected by May 24 at the latest.
Finnish newspaper Iltalehti revealed the Swedish government has expressed its wish to Finland that the countries apply together and Swedish government sources confirmed the story.
Russia recently threatened to deploy nuclear weapons to the Baltic region if the countries join the military alliance. The Kremlin said the move would have ‘the most undesirable consequences’ and would end talk of a ‘nuclear-free’ Baltic region, where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto declined to comment on the decision yesterday, but insisted he would prefer Finland and Sweden to make similar choices.
The nations already have partnerships with Nato which involve intelligence sharing and joint military exercises. Both have also sent military support to Ukraine.
Any membership bid must be accepted by all 30 Nato states, a process that could take between four months and a year.
Meanwhile in Kyiv, US officials declared they believed Ukraine can win the war yesterday. During a landmark visit to Ukraine – the first by major US officials since war broke in February – the Pentagon’s defence secretary said the Russian military must be ‘weakened’ so history cannot be repeated.
Speaking after a secretive meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside secretary of state Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin said Ukraine can succeed if it is given the ‘right equipment.’
Mr Zelensky has called on the West to provide ‘heavy weapons’ including tanks and armoured vehicles – and yesterday the US pledged a further £559million in military aid to assist Ukraine and allied nations.
It was also announced US diplomats will begin a gradual return to Ukraine this week.
Mr Austin, a former Army four-star general, took a stronger line than expected in his comments over the ‘weakening’ of Russia.
‘We believe that we can win, [Ukraine] can win if they have the right equipment, the right support,’ he said.
Asked what the US would now see as a successful outcome in Ukraine, Mr Austin said he hoped to deplete the Russian military so further invasions could not be launched. He added: ‘We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things it has done in invading Ukraine.’
‘Ukraine can win with the right equipment’