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| ATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) looks on as Finland Ministers for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto (L) and Sweden Foreign minister Ann Linde (R) bump fists after holding a joint press conference after their meeting at the Nato |
International Military - The deputy head of NATO sees no direct military threat to Sweden and Finland from Russia. He is also confident that potential NATO members will join the alliance, despite Turkey's objections. "We are confident that Sweden and Finland will join our ranks," said Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Mircea Geoana at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Friday (10/6/2022).
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“The Allies have concerns. And, Turkey has some legitimate concerns when it comes to terrorists," he added. Finland and Sweden signed up to join NATO last month, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
However, this desire has faced opposition from Turkey, which accuses it of supporting and harboring Kurdish militants and other groups deemed terrorists. When asked about the security guarantees provided to Sweden and Finland until they become full members of NATO, Geoana said she does not see any real risk to countries from Russia.
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"We see no sign of Russia having the ability or intent at this point to be aggressive militarily towards these two candidate countries," he said. "We can treat this period with proactive caution, but we see no real risk from a traditional military point of view for Finland and Sweden," said Geoana.
Finland said Thursday it plans to amend its border law to allow the construction of a barrier on its eastern border with Russia, in a move to strengthen preparedness against hybrid threats.
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