Germany’s Baerbock Backs Finland, Sweden NATO Bids Ahead Of Trip
By Michael Fischer and Steffen Trumpf, dpa
BERLIN/Germany: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged further support for Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids on Monday, as she started on a two-day trip to visit the Nordic neighbours.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine had signalled a real turning point for the two countries, Baerbock noted.
“After 80 years of Finnish neutrality and after 200 years of Swedish non-alignment, both countries have decided to join NATO. We continue working jointly towards this,” Baerbock said, adding that she would stress this in Finland and especially in Sweden.
In the Finnish capital Helsinki, a meeting with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto is planned, as well as a visit to an underground civil defence facility.
On Tuesday, the trip continues on to the Swedish capital Stockholm.
Finland and Sweden both applied to join the Western defence alliance in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly one year ago.
In order for a country to join NATO, the unanimous approval of all current members is required. Turkey and Hungary have yet to back their accession.
Hungary’s ratification is expected but Turkey has raised multiple objections, including accusing Sweden of not taking a hard enough stance on Kurdish and other groups it deems terrorist organizations.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia. Sweden, meanwhile, currently holds the rotating EU presidency, giving it an important moderating role.
“Few other countries are as close to us Germans as Sweden and Finland,” Baerbock said, noting that they coordinated closely in international fora such as the European Union and the United Nations.
Baerbock’s talks could also focus on the planned delivery of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, which both Sweden and Finland possess.
The German government is looking to grow the pool of allies willing to supply the tanks to Kiev.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told Suomi radio on Sunday that her government had not yet made a decision on the matter she described as complicated. She noted that Finland’s long border with Russia had to be taken into account when considering weapons shipments.
Sweden has not yet decided on the delivery of battle tanks either.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson also does not rule out the possibility of his country supplying fighter jets to Ukraine at some point in the future, but says the question is not an urgent one for Sweden given the pressing matter of the country’s NATO bid.
The tense security situation must be kept in mind at a time when Sweden has applied for NATO membership but is not yet a member, he said recently, calling it “a difficult balancing act.”
On Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will visit Kristersson in Stockholm. Morawiecki has said Poland sympathizes with Kiev’s plea for fighter jets but would only send them together with NATO allies.
