Britain signs mutual security pacts with Sweden and Finland ahead of NATO decision

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson traveled to Sweden and Finland on Wednesday to sign mutual security agreements with the two non-aligned countries, both close to deciding whether to join NATO. Under the agreements, signed separately with Swedish Prime Minster Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, the countries would provide military and other assistance to the other signatory upon request, tailored to the specific request.
Johnson said the agreements are "not a short-term stop gap" while Finland and Sweden debate NATO membership, but rather "enduring assurance between two nations." Still, the agreement could ease concerns about aggression from Russia in the period between the two countries applying for NATO membership and being accepted and sheltered under the alliance's more robust Article 5 mutual security arrangement. Russia is vehemently opposed to NATO expansion, especially close to its territory; Finland and Russia share an 800-mile border.
Johnson's "agreements with Sweden and Finland are not a legal or automatic security guarantee but a political declaration that the U.K. would come to their aid, if requested," BBC News reports. Andersson and Niinistö both attributed the mutual security pacts and possible NATO membership to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Niinistö is expected to reveal his opinion on Finland joining NATO this week, and if Finland applies, Sweden is expect to do so at the same time.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Johnson, after meeting with Andersson at her country residence and posing for a photo in a rowboat, said the agreement "enshrines the values" held by both Britain and Sweden.
"As you put it so well, Magdalena, when we were out on the lake," Johnson added: "We are now literally and metaphorically in the same boat."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US