Stockholm – As a frontline NATO state with a protracted land border with Russia, Finland has the chance to have standing NATO troops within the nation throughout peacetime. Eight member international locations have already got multinational battle teams on their territory, to which different international locations take turns contributing troopers.
Finland has concluded that it doesn’t want standing NATO forces in peacetime, however somewhat a NATO headquarters in Finnish Lapland. The Finnish authorities needs Sweden to be chargeable for constructing such a headquarters.
“We’re honored to have been requested,” says Sweden’s Protection Minister Pål Jonson at a press convention in Stockholm along with his Finnish counterpart.
“There are numerous the reason why we’re asking Sweden. We share the identical safety surroundings, so it’s fairly pure,” says Finland’s Protection Minister Antti Häkkänen.
The headquarters will facilitate forces from different NATO international locations to shortly contribute to the protection of northern Finland within the occasion of a army assault.
A lot remains to be unclear concerning the design, position, and placement of the headquarters. No choice has but been made, however the headquarters may very well be operational by 2026.
Sweden and Finland have already got shut protection cooperation and apply collectively extensively.
(September 16)