A Swedish NATO report shows that the country is growing cooler on the idea of a joint defence agreement with Finland, according to Teija Tiilikainen, director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).
"It is ever clearer that a bilateral Finnish-Swedish defence agreement is considered a bad fit in Sweden," Tiilikainen says. "Cooperative efforts will still be strengthened and are considered politically sound, but Sweden wants there to be a clear framework for the extent of such cooperation."
Tiilikainen says that the report's most important takeaway for Finland is that Swedish attitudes in security concerns can now be taken in hand. The report is exhaustive and includes useful comparisons between different security and defence utilities.
Agreed on Russia
Tiilikainen draws attention to the similarities between Swedish and Finnish conceptions of the abilities and nature of Russia's military.
Finland has recently conducted a NATO report of its own as well as a security policy probe. Sweden's report even includes the same terms as these documents when describing Russia, Tiilikainen says.
"The Swedes have also come to the conclusion that Russia is an agile and capable military power. The change in attitude after the 2008 Georgian war is evident. Russia's readiness for martial action has been proven time and again, as has its unpredictability," Tiilikainen says.