The heads of state gathered in Gotland, Sweden, want to find out if NATO can increase maritime surveillance in the Gulf of Finland.
Ten heads of state gathered in Gotland’s Visbyhy in a rare turbulent world political situation.
Finland and Estonia are currently investigating the damage to the gas pipeline and telecommunications cable, the crisis in the Middle East is more violent than ever before, and now many countries have begun to withdraw support for Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia.
Ten Northern European countries have already been doing defense cooperation as the JEF group for some years. The abbreviation comes from the words Joint Expeditionary Force, which means joint regional defense cooperation.
All the other JEF countries belong to the defense alliance NATO, except this time the host country, Sweden.
The JEF countries are not a substitute for or a competitor of NATO, but according to the Visby meeting, the JEF cooperation was described as an agile cooperation that complements NATO and focuses on, for example, hybrid threats.
Gas pipe and data cable damage the number one topic of conversation
The recent damage to the gas pipeline and communication cable between Finland and Estonia can be exactly the kind of threats that the JEF countries want to protect themselves against even more effectively.
Both before the beginning of the meeting and after it ends, as well as the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö that the Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas consistently refused to speculate on the cause or author of the damage.
According to Niinistö, the research is progressing piece by piece and the picture is being completed, but it is not ready and therefore there are no grounds for conclusions yet.
When asked what would happen if the damage turned out to be sabotage by Russia, Niinistö answered simply.
– Now we are in a situation where I can’t answer the initial questions. However, these are very sensitive issues.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reminded that the accusation of damage is very serious, and such cannot be presented without solid evidence.
Therefore, neither of them agreed to assess whether the damage was deliberate damage or damage.
Still, the leaders of the JEF countries decided to give the defense ministers the task of finding out how infrastructure such as cables could be protected better than at present. Kallas also said that the discussions also considered whether, for example, NATO could move its maritime surveillance even more to secure telecommunications in the Gulf of Finland.
– For example, ships in the Baltic Sea could move to the Gulf of Finland in the event that someone is on the move with bad intentions. He would know we’re watching him and it’s not worth even trying.
Zelenskyi via video link in Visby
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi participated in the Visby meeting via video connection.
In recent months, Ukraine’s support has been questioned in various countries, for example in Slovenia, which is holding elections, in the United States due to budget problems, and in Poland, which is now holding elections in the week.
According to President Niinistö, there are no serious signs of the military’s will to aid fading. For example, Finland just made a decision on the 19th aid package.
According to Niinistö, also the president of the United States Joe Biden has assured that the support will continue.
According to Prime Minister Kallas, the meeting in Visby emphasized how many countries have already made decisions about aid to Ukraine lasting for years. For example, Norway’s decisions extend five years ahead.
Israel has the right to defend itself
In Visby, the heads of state also discussed the bloodier clash between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas that started on Saturday.
Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støren according to which Israel has a clear right to defend itself against Hamas attacks. However, during the last few days, the confrontation has taken on dimensions that are more difficult to assess.
Jonas Gahr Støre wondered whether Israel, for example, has the right to cut off water, electricity and food supplies to Gaza, or to call on a million Palestinians to leave the area in a day, from which it is practically impossible to leave before new attacks by Israel.