Finland and Sweden eager for Nato membership
▻https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/finland-and-sweden-will-make-nato-decision-in-weeks-not-months-p0ps905sl
One of the crowning ironies of President Putin’s attempt to shore up Russia’s position by annexing its neighbour is that he is about to double the length of its land borders with Nato.
[...] It would also put Nato soldiers scarcely 100 miles from St Petersburg, Putin’s home city, and on the doorstep of the Kola peninsula, a significant base for Russia’s naval power as it seeks to expand its footholds in the warming waters of the Arctic.
[...] In the strict sense of the word, Sweden and Finland left neutrality behind more than 25 years ago. Both joined the European Union in 1995 and in the late 1990s formed partnerships with Nato that have become steadily closer over time, in particular since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
They routinely exchange intelligence with the alliance and have contributed troops to joint training exercises, peacekeeping missions and rapid reaction forces, including the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force. They have sent large quantities of armaments to Ukraine — including roughly 10,000 anti-tank missiles from Sweden — breaking with their traditions of not dispatching weapons to conflict zones.
Less immediately obvious are the risks. Article 5 does not cover candidate states during the accession process, which could take as long as a year.
