Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says that he believes that Finland and Sweden are moving at the same pace toward a closer relationship with NATO. "We have not discussed the matter, but it is my forecast that we will move at the same pace", Bildt told reporters when he met with Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ilkka Kanerva, who visited Stockholm on Friday.
Kanerva, who arrived in Sweden on his first working day as Finland's new Foreign Minister, said that it would be useful for the countries to be in step as they move forward in the matter. "I think that it would be noted more seriously among our partners if we could appear together with Sweden", Kanerva said. However, the two foreign ministers jokingly disagreed over whether or not the two countries were moving toward NATO "hand-in-hand".
"Wherever we go in life, we will walk hand in hand", said Bildt, striking a poetic note. "No, no, my hands are in my pockets", Kanerva laughed nervously .
And I thought the Belgians were weird ...
An immediate concern for Finland and Sweden is to establish how the countries will participate in the NATO Response Force. "It is quite clear that if we want to take part in crisis management operations, as is Finland's idea, then compatibility with NATO in practical situations is important", Kanerva said. In his view, there is no reason not to deepen relations with NATO according to the offer extended to Finland and Sweden at the alliance's summit in Riga. "The programme of the new government also leaves this possibility open."
The Norwegians have recently re-classified the Russkies as a threat to national security, and now Sweden and Finland are jumping on the collective security bandwagon. And they're opting for a NATO, not EU, solution, too. |