The Baltic Sea could become a “sphere of influence” for NATO, as all the countries bordering this sea would become members if Sweden and Finland joined the alliance, with the exception of Russia, which would certainly be in a weaker position, according to Swedish researcher Robert Dalshaw from Swedish Defense Research Agency. Here are the researcher’s answers to three questions in this regard.
What impact will Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO have in the Baltic Sea region?
The Baltic Sea will already become NATO’s sphere of influence, the alliance’s chances of pinning the Russian fleet in its bases will be better than it already was. In NATO, in the event of a war, it would be difficult for the Russian Navy to conduct operations above sea level, while it could conduct operations under water, but he has very few submarines today and the threat is small, and Russia may have to take a defensive position rather than an offensive one.
In this context, what is the significance of the “Paltops maneuvers” and their Russian equivalent? This year, the maneuvers are more important. The reasons for the increase in participation this year are related to the war in Ukraine and the candidacies of Sweden and Finland to join NATO. And what will the accession of Sweden and Finland change for the Baltics? This saves her from uncertainty as long as Sweden is outside the alliance, the Baltic countries cannot be sure how Stockholm will behave in case of a crisis, for example, whether Swedish airspace will remain open to NATO transport aircraft flying from the US or the UK If Sweden were a member of NATO , the Baltic States would feel calmer.
