Finland and Sweden joining NATO would enhance the region’s security, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė believes.
“That unprecedented support, first of all in Finland, but also in Sweden, where more than half of people are in favour of NATO membership, I think, it is […] a game changer for us, the security of the Baltic Sea region,” she told the radio Žinių Radijas radio station on Thursday.
The accession to NATO by two countries of the Baltic Sea region would “significantly” strengthen the security of not just the region but also of NATO as a whole, Šimonytė believes.
“I think the presence of these countries as members of the Alliance would actually much strengthen both the Alliance and these countries, as well as our security. Once this decision is announced, and I hope it will be taken, I think the Baltic countries will have a very good reason to welcome it,” she added.
Finland and Sweden are NATO partners but formally not members of the Alliance. The countries’ policymakers started debating joining NATO in the wake of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which heightened concerns over military security. Finland is due to decide on NATO membership within weeks.
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