Sweden stages biggest war games in 25 years as its bid to join Nato remains blocked
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
People waving the Nato flag in Helsinki on April 4, the day Finland became a member of Nato. Sweden’s Nato bid still faces opposition.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
STOCKHOLM - Gathering 26,000 soldiers from 14 nations, Sweden on Monday launched its largest military manoeuvres in more than 25 years, as the country’s bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) remains blocked.
“The exercise takes place in the air, on the ground and at sea in large parts of the country,” the Swedish Armed Forces said, announcing the exercise that is scheduled to run until May 11.
The focus will be on southern and northern Sweden and the strategically important island of Gotland.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Finland, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Denmark, Austria, Germany and France are also taking part.
With most of the participants being Nato members, the exercise spotlights Sweden’s ongoing struggle to join the military alliance.
Ending two centuries of neutrality and military non-alignment, Sweden, along with neighbouring Finland, announced bids to join Nato in May 2022,
But while Finland managed to become the 31st member of Nato on April 4,
New members need to be unanimously ratified by all members of the alliance, and Sweden still faces opposition from Ankara and Budapest.
Sweden has especially angered Turkey by refusing to extradite dozens of suspects
Nato diplomats hope Mr Erdogan will become more agreeable to ratification if he wins elections in May.
The Nordic nation has had close ties with Nato ever since joining the Partnership for Peace programme in the 1990s, but as a non-member, it is not covered by the security guarantees of Nato’s Article 5 on collective defence.
While it is surrounded by alliance members, as the only Nordic country outside Nato, Sweden could become a strategic interest for Russia in the event of a conflict, say experts. AFP
