... 2023
Working Paper No.76 / 2023
The following working paper examines the current state of security in the Baltic region. It has become clear that there is no going back to the pre-Ukraine crisis balance of power structure. NATO’s expansion into Sweden and Finland can radically transform the political and security landscape in the Baltic region and destroy the established forms of cooperation these states have with Russia. This paper covers: risks and opportunities states face by engaging with Russia in ...
... acceptance of U.S. bases on its territory; heightened tensions in the region (and the Arctic) and,
as I predicted right after Russia’s military operation in Ukraine
, Finland’s and Sweden’s panicking, rushed and fatal decision to join NATO.
Why Sweden and Finland are joining NATO
Andrey Kortunov:
NATO’s Cheek by Russia’s Jowl
Here are some of the possible reasons for this tension-increasing and security-reducing membership decision:
— Undoubtedly, both have been
under heavy pressure on the part ...
..., RAS Institute for US and Canadian Studies, MGIMO University, as well as European and Swedish experts from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the European Leadership Network (ELN) discussed the implications of possible Sweden and Finland membership in NATO for global and European security, the risks of incidents in the Baltic Sea region and the possibilities to avoid them, security challenges in the Arctic region, and the prospects for multilateral cooperation in the Arctic in ...
... and statements, at first glance, make NATO look like a locomotive going towards its goal.
At the same time, no new fundamental operational decisions were made regarding Russia. The Russia-NATO Founding Act remained de jure untouched, the formulas for Sweden and Finland to join the alliance remain open, the prospects and models of interaction with partners in the post-Soviet space are even more open. This means that at the regional level, the Euro-Atlantic train moves “only where the track has been laid” ...
... Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a round table discussion on Russia and NATO in the framework of Euro-Atlantic security. The participants discussed the contours of global and regional security in today's realities, due to the prospective NATO membership for Sweden and Finland.
The event was attended by Igor Ivanov, RIAC President; Andrey Kortunov, RIAC Director General; Ivan Timofeev, RIAC Director of Programs; Antti Helantera, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Finland in the Russian Federation; ...
Which trends seen in the West reflect Finland’s and Sweden’s possible entry into NATO
Much has been said and written about the likely consequences of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. A legion of analysts have already assessed the changing balance of power in the Baltic Sea, the new situation on the long Finnish-Russian land border as well as the possible implications of such NATO’s expansion for the Arctic. ...
... These two northern European countries decided upon a policy of neutrality – both will follow their own paths depending on geopolitical circumstances and taking their own complex, and at times dramatic, history into account. At the same time, both Sweden and Finland remained European and western countries without sacrificing their neutrality, their national identity or their fundamental values.
Is it fair to say that Sweden and Finland had greater security deficits during the Cold War than their neighbours ...
... a separate province, rather than as part of Finland. The Swedish side urged Finland to agree to a referendum among the predominantly Swedish population of the Åland Islands to decide the country to which they wanted to belong. As compensation, Sweden offered financial aid and assistance to Finland in taking over Russia’s East Karelia. Several options for the possible transfer of Åland Islands to Sweden were presented at the Paris Peace Conference in the autumn of 1919.
The public statements of Minister Jussi Niinistö are not ...
... territory in peacetime, and later an extension to a ban on nuclear weapons.
Сirculation of reports on trans-Baltic military cooperation seems to be of use to almost all regional actors, irrespective of its prospects of materializing.
www.nationmaster.com
Finland and Sweden compared: Military stats
Finally, Northern Europe acquired a security configuration known as
northern balance
. The military engagement between Denmark and Norway with NATO was compensated by expanded cooperation between the Soviet Union and ...
... countries’ peacekeeping battalion (
BALTBAT
), and the joint air space surveillance and control system (
BALTNET
), the joint Baltic naval squadron (
BALTRON
) and the Baltic countries’ defence college (
BALTDEFCOL
) in Tartu continue to operate. Sweden, Finland and Norway, together with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and also Ireland, are part of the Nordic Battlegroup, which was created under the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, and cooperate within it in fulfilling the “Petersberg ...
