Sweden Should Lead NATO Initiative in Finland, Two Governments Propose

"The Swedish government has the ambition to take on a role as framework nation for forward land forces in Finland," Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Antti Hakkanen in Stockholm, Reuters reported.

"Let me also underline that we are in the early stages of this process," he said, adding that the appointment of a nation to lead the effort will be done by NATO collectively.

The February 2022 outbreak of the Ukraine war sparked a historic policy u-turn in previously militarily non-aligned Finland and Sweden who joined NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively.