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JENS STOLTENBERG

Russia on agenda at Nordic Nato discussions

Norwegian Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg is in Stockholm to meet Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and defence officials from across the Nordics, with Russian aggression in the region set to be a key talking point.

Published: 10 November 2015 11:23 CET
Russia on agenda at Nordic Nato discussions
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at the Nato Parliamentary Assembly in Stavanger in October. Photo: Carina Johansen/NTB scanpix

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Sweden for the first time since becoming Nato’s new Secretary General last year, taking over from fellow Scandinavian, Denmark’s Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The 56-year-old diplomat who served as Norway's Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013 with the Labour Party has promised to visit all Nato member states during his term, as well as non-members such as Sweden which have close ties to the intergovernmental military alliance.

His trip coincides with a regular two-day meeting of the Nordic defence cooperation group, Nordefco, attended by representatives from Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Denmark as well as partners from the Baltic states. Polish and UK officials have also been invited to the talks.

Sweden will hand over the rotating presidency of Nordefco to Denmark, following the discussions.

Russia’s presence in the the Nordics is expected to be a key focus of their debates, following continued jitters surrounding recent intrusions from the eastern country.

In October 2014, a foreign submarine – suspected to be from Russia, although this was never confirmed – was spotted in Swedish waters just outside Stockholm. A number of Russian planes have also been spotted in or close to Swedish and Danish airspace over the past year. Both Swedish and Danish Intelligence services have reported that Russia is one of the biggest threats in the region.

The visit from the new Nato chief also comes as public support for Sweden joining the organization is growing, according to recent polls. 

In September, 41 percent of Swedes said they thought their country should join Nato while 39 percent remained against it. A similar survey in May stated that just 31 percent of respondents were in favour of Nato membership.

Sweden's ruling centre-left coalition – made up of the Social Democrats and the Green Party – is historically against Nato membership. However, there have been indications in the past year that the Scandinavian nation is moving closer to joining the defence alliance.

In April, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland announced far-reaching plans to extend their military cooperation. Two months ago, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet suggested that Sweden could get involved with a UK-led Nato-linked force that could be deployed in the event of war in the Baltics, although this was later denied by Sweden’s Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist.

NATO

Sweden strikes deal with Turkey over Nato membership

Sweden has finally won the backing of Turkey's President Erdogan for its Nato membership, with a deal struck on the eve of the alliance's Vilnius summit opening the way for Turkish ratification "as soon as possible".

Published: 10 July 2023 21:40 CEST
Sweden strikes deal with Turkey over Nato membership

“President Erdogan has agreed to forward the Accession Protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly as soon as possible and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said after the deal was struck. “This is a historic step which makes all Nato allies stronger and safer.” 

At the press conference, Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson, said it had been “a long day in a long journey towards Swedish membership”. 

“I am extremely happy,” he said. “This is a good day for Sweden”. 

In a separate joint statement, Sweden repeated its commitments to help Turkey in its “fight against terrorism” making an addition pledge to support Turkey’s in its long-stalled efforts to join the EU. 

“Sweden will actively support efforts to reinvigorate Turkiye’s EU accession process, including modernisation of the EU-Turkiye Customs Union and
visa liberalisation,” the statement said.

In return, Turkey said it “will transmit the Accession Protocol for Sweden to the Grand National Assembly, and work closely with the Assembly to ensure ratification.”

Turkey has been holding up Sweden’s application to join the Atlantic alliance, accusing Stockholm of harbouring Kurdish activists Ankara regards as
terrorists.

And on Monday, Erdogan upped the stakes further, demanding that the European Union revive Turkey’s stalled EU membership bid as a precondition for Sweden joining Nato.

Shortly before the deal was announced Erdogan interrupted his talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson to hold talks with Charles Michel, the President of the EU Council. 

Michel hailed a “good meeting”, adding that they had “explored opportunities ahead to bring EU-Turkey cooperation back to the forefront and re-energise our relations”.

Turkey has been a formal candidate to join the European Union since 2005, and an aspirant since long before that, but talks have long been stalled with little sign of life.

US President Joe Biden welcomed the agreement. 

“I stand ready to work with President Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area,” he said in a statement, adding: “I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally.”

“The path for Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s membership of Nato is finally clear,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter, hailing the “good news from Vilnius”.

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