For more than 70 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has grown into the world’s largest military alliance with the participation of 30 countries.
Formed in 1949 to counterbalance Soviet power, NATO – a long-time source of tension between the West and Russia – has established itself as a unified and vital force to deal with Russia. since President Putin launched a special military operation in Ukraine at the end of February 2022.
NATO’s strength will be further enhanced when Switzerland and Finland decided to give up its neutrality status to apply to join the bloc.
The move, which analysts say will change the landscape of European security for years to come and deepen tensions in NATO’s relationship with Russia, which has always opposed the alliance’s eastward expansion. .
The admission of Finland and Sweden could help NATO increase its military potential on land, at sea and in the air. Sweden has a large navy that will bolster NATO’s defenses in the Baltic Sea, and a growing arms industry that could help the alliance build its own fighters and export them worldwide. world.
Meanwhile, Finland also has a very well-equipped military and maintains mandatory military service for men. Christopher Skaluba, Director of the Atlantic Council’s Transatlantic Security Initiative, commented:
“It’s an approach that wants the whole of society to see the importance of national defense.” These two countries also provide unique geographical advantages to NATO.
A New Northern Border
Finland shares a border of more than 1,300 km with Russia and the area is always closely patrolled. If the country becomes a NATO member, the bloc’s land border with Russia will double.
Currently, NATO has a land border with Russia that stretches over more than 1,200 km across northern Norway, eastern Latvia and Estonia, along with borders with Poland and Lithuania around Russia’s Kaliningrad region. That would provide NATO with a powerful deterrent and increase its ability to withstand a US attack, said Carisa Nietsche, a member of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Russia”.
Finland’s membership would bring NATO closer to Russia’s Kola Peninsula, a strategic enclave where Moscow deploys ballistic missile submarines and stores nuclear warheads.
Russia’s Northern Fleet – tasked with patrolling the Arctic is also stationed on this island newspaper.
The admission of Finland and Sweden will help NATO increase its presence in the Arctic. Artwork: NATO
Increased presence in the Baltic
To the south, the admission of Finland and Sweden would give NATO an advantage in the Baltic Sea – a strategic waterway adjacent to the city of St. Petersburg of Russia as well as some of NATO’s most vulnerable members.
“The main aim of NATO is to keep Russia away from the Baltic countries,” Skaluba stressed, referring to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. According to the expert, NATO’s growing military presence on the Baltic coasts will help strengthen the security of the aforementioned countries.
“If Sweden and Finland officially join NATO, this will provide the alliance with another supply route through the Baltic Sea. Currently, NATO depends mainly on the Suwalki Gap, the narrow corridor separating the territory. Kaliningrad territory of Russia and Belarus that Moscow might attempt to blockade during a conflict”.
In the middle of the Baltic Sea is Gotland – a 175km Swedish island – home to medieval ruins and defensive fortresses.
In April, Sweden announced it would spend $163 million to strengthen its forces on the island, including expanding barracks to deploy more forces.
Reaching far into the Arctic
The admission of Finland and Sweden will help NATO increase its presence in the Arctic. These two countries are both members of the Arctic Council – an organization that oversees the northernmost part of the world, with 8 members, including Russia and the US.
Once the two countries become NATO members, “Arctic security will be more high on the NATO agenda”.
The Arctic is an important region for Russia’s economy and strategy. The country’s coastline covers 53% of the Arctic Ocean coastline, and Russia’s population in the region is about 2 million, or nearly half of all people living in the Arctic, according to the Arctic Institute. Therefore, security in the Arctic will also become a priority on Russia’s agenda.
As Russia deploys military forces from the Kola Peninsula to the Arctic, Sweden and Finland could help NATO monitor the activity, but that would certainly increase tensions.
“The Arctic is often seen as a success story of cooperation between the Arctic states of NATO and Russia, but there is also concern that it will become a contested area of influence and security. security once Sweden and Finland become NATO members,” noted expert Skaluba.
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