On May 15th, Anna Wieslander spoke at the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn. Her concluding panel “Trusting Who We Are: Baltic Regional Security,” moderated by President of Estonia Alar Karis, took place on the verge of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership applications.
Bringing two EU members into NATO’s framework will “solidify the West,” Wieslander said. Attempts at dialogue and creating a common security framework with Russia had failed. Today, “a security architecture in Europe cannot include Russia,” Wieslander argued. “It has to deal with Russia but it cannot include Russia.” This did not mean there was no potential for cooperation on issues of common interest, but ”the security order—what we strive to secure—is opposed to Russia.”
Other panelists included Artis Pabriks, Deputy Prime Minister for Comprehensive Defence, Minister of Defence of Latvia; Charly Salonius-Pasternak Researcher, Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA); and François Heisbourg Senior Advisor, International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Further reading
Fri, May 13, 2022
Why Finland and Sweden can join NATO with unprecedented speed
New Atlanticist By Christopher Skaluba, Anna Wieslander
Both have put in the prescient and painstaking work to make a potential transition from partner to member so straightforward.
Thu, May 12, 2022
FAST THINKING: Why Finland and Sweden are feeling secure about NATO membership
Fast Thinking By
How did the two countries arrive so quickly at this juncture? And what opportunities and dangers lie ahead? Our experts in Helsinki, Brussels, and Washington have the answers.
Wed, Mar 30, 2022
All security is local: Arctic defense policies and domain awareness
Report By
This report maps Arctic allies' and partners' defense strategies and domain awareness capabilities to make recommendations for enhancing Arctic security.