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Dumping ‘Decades Of Neutrality’ – Why Non-Interventionist Approach Of Finland & Sweden Is A Big Lie?

Recently, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said that Stockholm would provide Ukraine with $102 million in military aid to Ukraine which includes anti-ship missiles, anti-tank weapons, and other arms, recently.

“Sweden will send anti-ship missiles, anti-tank weapons and 12.7 mm rifles, including ammunition to Ukraine. This 4th support package also includes financial contributions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The total amount includes more than 95 million euros,” Linde said on Twitter.

In February, Sweden dumped its doctrine of not shipping weapons to governments in active conflict for the first time since 1939. The Nordic country announced 400 million kronor worth of military materiel and the donation of 500 million kronor to the Ukrainian central bank’s fund for its armed forces.

Besides Sweden, another Nordic country Finland overturned decades of military non-alignment and submitted its applications to join the NATO military alliance.




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File Image: Vladimir Putin and Sergey Shoigu

Neutral Sweden?

Kenneth Waltz, who formulated the concept of neorealism, will find a perfect example in Finland and Sweden in the present-day context. Waltz had formulated the concept on the bedrock that war is a constant possibility in international relations and these conflicts are spurred by an oligopolistic market.

In the context of Finland and Sweden joining NATO, one has to realize that neither of these two countries has been neutral ever!

Their decision to join NATO has been a culmination of their continued pro-American slant in their foreign policy after the disintegration of Soviet Russia and their pro-Russia stance before 1990. Both these stances are based on the domestic compulsions of their burgeoning defense majors.

When Nobel laureate Albert Einstein said, “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything,” he surely didn’t mean either Finland or Sweden.

Post-war Finland sought to carve out neutrality from a defense alliance with the Soviet Union called the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual assistance and even gave USSR a base in its country.

Finland had stayed away from the US-led Marshall plan, primarily because its capital was just 390 km from St Petersburg (Leningrad). The treaty protected Finland from any aggression from USSR.

Swedish Neutrality Is A Lie?

Sweden’s pretense of neutrality began early in the 19th century, with the charade continuing well into World War II. The country still faces questions about its murky dealing with Hitler’s Germany.

Later, under the Prime Ministership of Olaf Palme, Sweden also entered into a secret defense pact with the US.

In the 1990s, it was also involved in NATO missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Libya. It also joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, the same time Finland did and became a part of the European Common Security and Defense Policy in 2010.

Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, whose party had opposed joining the alliance for decades, announced recently that her Social Democratic Party had unanimously decided to join NATO.

As EurAsian Times had reported, Sweden is home to some very significant defense companies globally, including Saab, BAE Systems, and its subsidiary Bofors.

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