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The governments of Sweden and Finland announced on Monday that Sweden will take the lead in establishing a strengthened NATO presence in Finland in the form of advanced land forces (FLF), Reuters reports.
“The Swedish government has the ambition to take on the role as the framework nation for the advanced land forces in Finland,” said Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson during a joint press conference with his Finnish counterpart Antti Häkkänen in Stockholm. Jonson emphasized that the process is in its early stages and that the decision on which country will lead the efforts will be made collectively by NATO.
In June, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen announced that Finland would host a new NATO land command unit, tasked with leading ground operations in Northern Europe and Scandinavia.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked a significant shift in the neutrality policies of both Finland and Sweden. Finland officially joined NATO in April 2023, while Sweden became a member of the North Atlantic Alliance in March of the same year.
