The non-NATO Nordic countries of Sweden and Finland are hosting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, May 11. That is around a week before their governments plan to announce their decisions on applying for NATO membership, Swedish news portal The Local.se reports.
The Swedish government stated in a press release that According to a press release issued by the Swedish government, Johnson met with Sweden’s head of government Magdalena Andersson at her official country retreat at Harpsund, about 100km west of the capital Stockholm. The official aim of the visit is the security situation in Europe and bilateral relations and cooperation between Sweden and the UK, Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported, however, that Johnson is visiting to officially sign an agreement on this deeper bilateral cooperation, which would, among other things, see British naval vessels dispatched to the Baltic to protect Swedish and Finnish waters during the potential NATO accession process.
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Later in the day, Johnson plans to visit Finland. Earlier this month, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace visited Finland and gave reassurances that the UK would support Finland and Sweden in the event of an attack from Russia, whether or not the two countries decide to join the military alliance, The Local.se reports.
UK Prime Minister visits Sweden and Finland as countries prepare NATO announcement
