Swedish PM on Nato: 'I see no point in delaying the process'

Sweden's Prime Minister said on Wednesday that she aimed to make a decision on Nato membership early enough for it not to clash with this September's general election, as her Finnish counterpart said her country would decide "within weeks".
Speaking at a joint press conference in Stockholm with Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Andersson said that while Sweden would take as much time as necessary to properly assess the changed security situation, it would not draw out the process unnecessarily.
"I see no point in delaying this analysis, or the process," she said. "We also have elections in September, so we want to, of course, later in the year have more focus on that."
Finland's parliament will next week start a plenary session to discuss the implications of the Finnish government's reassessment of the security environment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was published on Wednesday and which concluded that if Finland joined Nato "the deterrent effect" would be "considerably stronger than it is at present as it would be based on the capabilities of the entire Alliance".
"I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months," Marin told reporters at the press conference.
Sweden is also discussing Nato membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Since the end of the Cold War, Finland and its Nordic neighbour Sweden have remained non-aligned but have deepened ties and are close partners with Nato, stopping short of memberships.
Marin stressed that as a Nato partner but not a member, Finland was not covered under Article 5, which states that an attack on one member should be considered an attack on all.
"There is no other way to have security guarantees than under Nato's deterrence and common defence as guaranteed by Nato's Article 5," Marin said.
Follow the national Nato debate with The Local's podcast, Sweden in Focus.
Finnish MPs on Wednesday also received a white paper on the country's security situation and a potential membership in the military alliance in light of the war in Ukraine.
The paper will serve as the starting point for parliamentary debates beginning next week. Many analysts predict Finland could submit a bid in time for a Nato summit in June.
Finland's leaders have in the past opted to stay out of Nato in part to avoid provoking Russia. During the Cold War, Finland agreed to stay out of western security cooperation in exchange for guarantees from Moscow not to invade.
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Speaking at a joint press conference in Stockholm with Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Andersson said that while Sweden would take as much time as necessary to properly assess the changed security situation, it would not draw out the process unnecessarily.
"I see no point in delaying this analysis, or the process," she said. "We also have elections in September, so we want to, of course, later in the year have more focus on that."
Finland's parliament will next week start a plenary session to discuss the implications of the Finnish government's reassessment of the security environment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was published on Wednesday and which concluded that if Finland joined Nato "the deterrent effect" would be "considerably stronger than it is at present as it would be based on the capabilities of the entire Alliance".
"I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months," Marin told reporters at the press conference.
Sweden is also discussing Nato membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Since the end of the Cold War, Finland and its Nordic neighbour Sweden have remained non-aligned but have deepened ties and are close partners with Nato, stopping short of memberships.
Marin stressed that as a Nato partner but not a member, Finland was not covered under Article 5, which states that an attack on one member should be considered an attack on all.
"There is no other way to have security guarantees than under Nato's deterrence and common defence as guaranteed by Nato's Article 5," Marin said.
Follow the national Nato debate with The Local's podcast, Sweden in Focus.
Finnish MPs on Wednesday also received a white paper on the country's security situation and a potential membership in the military alliance in light of the war in Ukraine.
The paper will serve as the starting point for parliamentary debates beginning next week. Many analysts predict Finland could submit a bid in time for a Nato summit in June.
Finland's leaders have in the past opted to stay out of Nato in part to avoid provoking Russia. During the Cold War, Finland agreed to stay out of western security cooperation in exchange for guarantees from Moscow not to invade.
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