Westerholm: Norden rustar upp inför ett nytt säkerhetsläge

The Nordic Council of Ministers is holding a meeting in Stockholm Defense cooperation is high on the agenda to address Russia's increased aggression in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic What is happening now among the Nordic countries There is increased coordination and cooperation within the framework of NATO in this case as well as within the framework of the EU the countries that are members of it This is another multilateral organization and it is the case that we have had a very long and well-functioning cooperation within the Nordic Council on a range of issues The Arctic dimension has become more significant in the last ten years especially in Russian activities Climate change has made the Northeast Passage and the Northwest Passage navigable at least part of the year especially during the summer At the same time the climate changes we are seeing also mean that areas that previously could not extract minerals or drill for oil or natural gas It is now opening up to commercial interests This means the Arctic region is gaining increased strategic importance not just as before as a transport route Across the Atlantic and from Swedish mining areas and other places this is part of the world that more and more people are eyeing It's no coincidence that Donald Trump is eyeing Greenland and that this entire region has gained increased importance This is not new either but you understand that there is a very broad political consensus in the Riksdag on this and it is based on current cooperation resting on a Riksdag decision that was more or less passed with acclamation That means complete agreement in June 2024 and the only thing and I actually find that a bit remarkable the only thing the Riksdag rejected at that time which were two amendment motions and it was somewhat remarkable that they were rejected Now that Europe is at war the support is very strong One of Russia's largest naval bases is located in Murmansk very close to the Norwegian and Finnish borders then we have the entire Norwegian northern coast then we have Iceland the Faroe Islands all the way to Greenland How important is this territory for defense against Russia We have this GIUK chain that is it's a sonar underwater listening equipment underwater microphones a bit of a burdust We expressed a sonar chain that goes from Greenland to Iceland to Britain It's important to warn about it when Russian submarines pass into the North Atlantic so already on the monitoring side it's of incredible significance An island without any defense is essentially seen as a stationary aircraft carrier for NATO-based fighter and reconnaissance planes and it is clear that attack aircraft can also be moved to Iceland Island is a strategically important territory and those who have read Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising that is the red storm where a war scenario a third world war scenario is played out which has actually come quite close And there Iceland plays a key role in controlling the North Atlantic and the entire Arctic In this meeting and in this cooperation Iceland and Norway who are not EU members are still involved in the defense cooperation regarding technology and procurement How important is that It is very important to keep costs down and these are so to speak complex systems meaning that the entire defense of the North Pole and the Arctic is based on our ability to communicate with each other so coordination and procurement are essential In the future there will also be joint exercises I mean it's not strange that we train together with Norway after all Iceland has nothing and the EU is above all the EU is not a defense alliance but a trade union That's where I think we might have listened a bit more to the Left Party and the Center Party in these supplementary care programs We are on the periphery of Europe and it is not obvious that we can become part of the Central or Western European food supply So I think it's a bit boring that the Riksdag didn't pick up on the two very wise motions that were raised It's also a problem because both Norway and Iceland are outside the trade area making it difficult for the Nordic Council to take steps in areas that are the EU's and ESA's competencies I work in food production which is a trade issue so it's certainly something that can get in the way but I still think food preparedness is a total defense issue so it should be possible to include it The Nordic countries also receive much praise from Ursula von der Leyen for their readiness perhaps especially Finland Sweden has moved from total defense to NATO membership but we are also seeing record-high investments infrastructure in Sweden What does Gothenburg Trondheim and Narvik mean for Sweden when we now move from having the Swedish border as the boundary of the external reality to having all of Scandinavia as the border These are port areas and above all ports like Gothenburg's which is our only deep-water port for ocean-going ships This means a port that has the capacity to receive troop transport ships from North America that can handle the open seas There is an underlying infrastructure in the form of a railway network and road network in Trondheim and Narvik This has naturally gained increased strategic importance in the situation we are in Due to what I said earlier about the Nordic region that is the Arctic which has gained increasing geostrategic importance in the last decade both in terms of economic resources Even control over certain bottlenecks meaning that by controlling the supply chain one would have early warning if Russia were to reallocate its forces in this case The Nordic Council has previously discussed whether it is needed or not Now it is seen that the tones are different it is much harder much more concrete and much more defense-oriented and cooperative in general How do you think the Nordic cooperation will develop regarding defense in the coming years I believe in nothing we rely on our defense cooperation within the NATO Defense Alliance and we will prioritize it We should not isolate ourselves and further divide ourselves into any additional forms of cooperation Without I see this in-depth discussion within the framework of the Nordic Council All countries are NATO members or in some way associated with NATO I see this as breaking away from the large group effort with all the NATO countries and taking a closer look What resources does NATO have what is our role and how can we deepen and improve our role So naturally it is a forum we share the same culture we come from the same language areas with the exception of Finnish We belong to the same cultural areas we have similar conditions The fact that we have an easy time working together makes it natural for the five countries to say that you can continue talking and then we will go to the conference room And then we delve into the matters that concern us or that lie upon us in accordance with the major decisions There is no opposing relationship and I would not see it as positive if Sweden or any other country took the initiative and trying to break away from Sweden from the NATO Defense Alliance and create some Nordic special status or Nordic special interest We are part of a whole and we will improve our part but we will still make sure it benefits the whole Russia has tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile Norway stated during the meeting that their border is 10 miles away from Europe's largest nuclear power plant How serious is this test All muscle spasms are muscle spasms Of course this is a game it's muscle contractions and this is one that goes back and forth All the time and this is surely a reaction to NATO or the USA or another country moving their positions Som something else So this is a game I wouldn't do in my pants for such a thing I would take it very seriously and find out what's behind this Can we make a countermove to assert our rights and show that we will not go further I can say that the Finns are really good at that As we have many friends who come from Nylan's brigades which is the only Swedish-speaking unit in Finland They have a completely different mindset They aren't stressed by this and are more calm which we also see on the screen The Finnish president All Finnish presidents have been quite calm and they say take it easy we think to ourselves And then we do something back and make it clear that you have nothing to take here Finnish people are highly respected by Russians They are not easily intimidated They have discussed in Brussels whether to use frozen Russian assets to give them to Ukraine so that they can buy military equipment These discussions have been halted It is Belgium above all that has said no to this This could also jeopardize a Ukrainian arms deal What consequences do you see if Ukraine were to freeze Russian assets It is naturally an escalation These frozen assets directly hit Putin's power base Those who will not tolerate Putin not responding in kind I stop there I don't want to go deeper into the morality or ethics This will naturally be met with a backlash The reason is that it is Putin's power base and Putin himself who will most likely be exposed to this Then we'll take that and then What advantages do you see in using Russian resources for Ukraine Why buy a captured plant then The advantage is that it releases liquidity that does not burden the European tax collection But the disadvantages that I went through But this is what we have our people chosen for They have to weigh the pros and cons and then make a decision Using Russian frozen assets would have been a financial escalation against Russia They have already implemented effective sanctions packages today What does this look like around the world and what is the outcome It is only now that Europe and the West are mature enough to take the step that US President Donald Trump has taken He imposes heavy sanctions on all states such as India that buy Russian oil or Russian natural gas To understand Europe if we look specifically at Europe There Gerhard Schroeder did so together with Angela Merkel They made large parts of Germany especially and large parts of Europe dependent on Russian natural gas I have been at war for such a long time We have been fighting for three years Indeed Europe's energy supply has already managed to adapt and find alternative supply routes We have the Danish gas field West from Denmark which is now fully renovated or will be fully renovated It can only deliver natural gas into the European gas network Which means we are less dependent on Russia For we know that Europe has had to buy Russian natural gas throughout this entire time Against its will So we have not been able to suppress it for selfish reasons for self-sufficiency reasons we have not been able to suppress it Now that the European infrastructure is in another situation these types of sanctions bite It doesn't cost us nearly as much as you think Let's now look at what happens if Trump continues his policy By imposing sanctions and trade barriers on those who trade in Russian petroleum products and natural gas At the same time as Europe buys from somewhere else But this could be combined with Ukrainian drones and missile attacks targeting the Russian oil and gas industry Eventually Vladimir Putin will have to compromise probably sooner rather than later against his will to reach a negotiation goal The Russian invasion of Ukraine is very much an energy war When it starts getting cold Russia has begun targeting heating plants and gas fields in eastern Ukraine People have blown up hydroelectric dams people have taken over nuclear power plants Energy infrastructure in the form of underwater cables has also been laid in the Baltic Sea If you look at what Russia and Ukraine are doing especially Ukraine's operations against Russian refineries How comprehensive is this Comprehensive I can't say exactly right now but it's certainly comprehensive Russia is using very old technology Some things you definitely shouldn't mess with because old technology has the advantage of being quite easy to maintain Well fix it So Russian installations may look simple they may look almost primitive They are extremely reliable and easy to manufacture and maintain Even if I now want to take an example from energy-related material So just look at the AK-47 that is the Kalashnikov It is probably the most copied weapon in the world It can be made by a simple blacksmith in Pakistan These are sturdy items Simple reliable and this applies to all types of such infrastructure It's what permeates the Russian industry It's simple but it's also reliable It doesn't take a huge engineering feat to repair a refinery or anything like that It is based on fairly simple technology Actually the West is more vulnerable Of course our technique is much more effective we get better gadgets If it breaks it takes a very long time to fix The extent of these attacks on Russian refineries does not always become known in Swedish media There have been attacks on trains near the Chinese border The Russia-China border How successful has Ukraine been in this Very very It is primarily psychology that deals with this Ukraine's resources are still David's battle cry This has been the case from day one Ukraine has both its morality its ingenuity and its innovation That is its ability to improvise They have been able to resist much better than most I would say 99% Defense and security policy analysts could have guessed It's this war when it finally ends I naturally hope just like most others that this will end soon This will be analyzed in length and width for decades Because it is extraordinary gains tactical gains On the battlefield Ukraine has managed to achieve a lot with simple means Relatively simple means as well But even an enemy who is superior and in some respects technically superior one has been able to resist I would like to live as long as possible so that I can be there to watch it