STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Sweden should lead the establishment of an enhanced NATO presence in Finland in the form of so-called forward land forces (FLF), the two countries proposed on Monday.
“The Swedish government has the ambition to take on a role as framework nation for forward land forces in Finland,” Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson told a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Antti Hakkanen in Stockholm.
“Let me also underline that we are in the early stages of this process,” he said, adding that the appointment of a nation to lead the effort will be done by NATO collectively.
Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked a historic policy u-turn in previously militarily non-aligned Finland and Sweden who joined NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
(Reporting by Niklas Pollard, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto)
