Joint statement by the Ministers of Defence of NORDEFCO

The Nordic Ministers of Defence and representatives met in Oslo today to discuss the grave security situation in Europe, the war in Ukraine, Nordic defence cooperation and the incoming Finnish and Swedish memberships of NATO.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dramatically altered European and global security. Their reprehensible actions have caused immense human suffering and destruction in Ukraine. Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine has shown us that peace must never be taken for granted. We need to stay the course and maintain and increase our support for Ukraine as they defend their freedom. Their cause is our cause.

The Nordic countries have since the beginning of the invasion supported Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal military materiel, humanitarian aid and funds. This support will continue. We remain steadfast in supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity. We will not let Russia’s nuclear rhetoric or aggressive actions deter our support to Ukraine. The Nordic countries have in total, donated approximately 1.7 billion euros in defence related support to Ukraine.

Today we have also discussed the future of Nordic defence cooperation in light of Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO. Finnish and Swedish NATO membership will strengthen Nordic defence cooperation and benefit the security of the whole Alliance. As all the Nordic countries will be allies in NATO, we have decided to update the NORDEFCO Vision to reflect this new strategic reality. The new Vision will guide the development of future Nordic defence cooperation between allies.