Defense ministers of Finland, Sweden, Norway discuss cooperation

The defense ministers of Finland, Norway, and Sweden met in Finland on Thursday to discuss ways of boosting cooperation when all five Nordic countries are NATO members, reported Xinhua.

Questioned by the press after Thursday's meeting on the idea of establishing a NATO base in Finland, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said he was not ruling out any possibilities.

Kaikkonen spoke to the press after meeting with his Norwegian and Swedish counterparts, Bjorn Arlid Gram and Peter Hultqvist.

In a joint statement, the ministers said one of their main objectives is to coordinate and develop the three countries' operations planning.

"The increased military presence and activity in northern Europe underlines the importance of avoiding incidents," they said, adding that "the security situation has deteriorated" due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The statement underlined the importance of North Calotte and adjacent areas of strategic importance to the countries' defense. In the Calotte area, the territories of the three countries converge.

"This cooperation provides an opportunity to reduce vulnerabilities and increase common security in the northern parts of our countries," the ministers said.

Regarding possible bases, Kaikkonen said "Now is the time to secure fast membership. Discussions lie ahead on what the presence of NATO will be in Finland and Sweden when membership has begun; what kind of command structure NATO will have here."

The three ministers concluded that talks are required on the aims of the Nordic countries within NATO, Kaikkonen added.