PM says UK will defend Scandinavian friends
BORIS JOHNSON said the UK “will not hesitate” to act after signing a historic security agreement with Sweden to defend against any threat from “21st century tyrant” Vladimir Putin.
The British Prime Minister said it was “a sad irony” that the security assurance declaration was signed days after marking VE Day, but was more important than ever under the “grim circumstances” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Mr Johnson, deploying some of his strongest language yet to condemn the Russian president, said: “This week, many of us have been paying tribute to the brave men and women who secured victory and peace in Europe 77 years ago.
“So, it’s a sad irony that we’ve been forced to discuss how best to fortify our shared defences against the empty conceit of a 21st century tyrant.”
Speaking alongside his Swedish counterpart, Magdalena Andersson, at her Harpsund country retreat yesterday, the Prime Minister added: “The many carcasses of Russian tanks that now litter the fields and streets of Ukraine, thanks to Swedish-developed and British-built NLaws [anti-tank weapons], certainly speak to how effective that cooperation can be.”
Mr Johnson added: “Most importantly, this is an agreement that enshrines the values that both Sweden and the UK hold dear, and which we will not hesitate to defend.”
Ms Andersson said she was “very happy” to sign the bilateral agreement. The two leaders sat together on a terrace outside the country manor, located south-west of Stockholm, to sign the declaration before walking side-by-side through the gardens of the estate down to a jetty overlooking the lake, where they briefly went rowing.
“We are now literally and metaphorically in the same boat,” Mr Johnson joked later.
The Prime Minister arrived in Finland later yesterday, when he formalised a similar pact with the country’s president Sauli Niinisto during a whirlwind trip to Scandinavia.
Mr Johnson said the agreements meant the UK “would come to the other [country’s] assistance” upon request in the event of a crisis, including increasing Royal Air Force, British Army and Royal Navy personnel and assets.
The Prime Minister said the UK would come to Finland’s assistance, including with military support, in the event of an attack on the country.
Asked during a press conference alongside Mr Niinisto if there would be “British boots on the ground” on Finnish territory during a “possible conflict with Russia”, Mr Johnson replied: “I think the solemn declaration is itself clear.
“What it says is that, in the event of a disaster, or in the event of an attack on either of us, then yes, we will come to each other’s assistance, including with military assistance.
“But the nature of that assistance will of course depend upon the request of the other party – but it’s also intended to be the foundation of an intensification of our security and our defence relationship in other ways as well.”
The Prime Minister embarked on yesterday’s mission as the Scandinavian neighbours consider the prospect of Nato membership, in the face of Mr Putin’s ongoing military aggression. Finland shares a lengthy land border with Russia and is only about 250 miles from St Petersburg.