STOCKHOLM: Sweden launched its largest military exercise in more than 25 years on Monday, gathering 26,000 soldiers from 14 nations. The country’s bid to join NATO remains blocked, and the exercise is seen as a bid to highlight Sweden’s preparedness to join the alliance.
The exercise will take place until May 11 and will focus on southern and northern Sweden and the strategically significant island of Gotland.
The United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Finland, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Austria, Germany, and France are also taking part in the exercises.
With most of the participants being NATO members, the exercise puts the spotlight on Sweden’s ongoing struggle to join the military alliance.
Sweden NATO bid faces opposition
Sweden and neighbouring Finland announced their bids to join NATO military alliance in May 2022, in the wake of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Finland managed to join NATO on April 4, but Sweden’s bid still faces some opposition.
To join NATO, new members require unanimous ratification from all existing members, and Sweden is facing opposition from Ankara and Budapest. One of the reasons for Turkey’s opposition is Sweden’s refusal to extradite suspects linked to a failed 2016 coup attempt and a long-standing Kurdish independence struggle.
NATO diplomats are hoping that if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wins the upcoming elections, he will become more amenable to ratification.
Although Sweden has had close ties with NATO since the 1990s when it joined the Partnership for Peace program, as a non-member, it is not protected by NATO’s Article 5 on collective defense.
As the only Nordic country outside of NATO and surrounded by alliance members, experts warn that Sweden could be of strategic interest to Russia in the event of a conflict.
The military exercise takes place on land, sea, and air across large parts of the country, with a particular focus on its southern and northern regions and the strategically important island of Gotland.
