Ministers from the Northern Group discussed the security of
northern Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The twelve Northern Group nations met in Reykjavik this week (8
June) to discuss the security challenges for Northern Europe
following Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The ministers of defence issued a joint
statement condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, committing
to support Ukraine both militarily and politically, and welcoming
the sovereign decisions of Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO
membership.
Defence Secretary MP said:
At these uncertain times, our international partnerships are our
strength.
The joint statement issued by the Northern Group today reinforces
our unequivocal condemnation of Putin’s barbaric invasion and our
determination that Ukraine succeeds.
I look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with
the Northern Group which, alongside NATO and the Joint
Expeditionary Force, helps ensure our mutual safety.
The Northern Group is a multilateral grouping of likeminded
nations which collaborates on security issues in Northern Europe.
There are twelve member nations: Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Sweden and the UK.
While in Iceland, the Defence Secretary also signed a new
Framework Agreement with Finland as both countries look to deepen
their bilateral relationship with each other. The agreement
commits both countries to enhancing defence co-operation in areas
such as intelligence sharing, countering hybrid threats,
improving interoperability and developing the Joint Expeditionary
Force (JEF).
