荔枝视频

When the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officially expands its membership to include two previously neutral Nordic nations, there鈥檚 only one person to thank or blame, depending on your geopolitical viewpoint: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The culpability of Putin鈥檚 Russia for NATO鈥檚 growth was a criticism shared by ambassadors of the newest NATO-bound nations, as Canada鈥檚 envoys from four key Nordic countries gathered at the 荔枝视频 to discuss the impact the invasion of Ukraine has had on the world.

鈥淔or us it was a shock when Russia attacked Ukraine, a sovereign country with internationally recognized borders 鈥� when that happened, we understood there was a totally new game in town,鈥� said Roy Eriksson, Finland鈥檚 ambassador to Canada.

Four ambassadors gather for panel

Global security and NATO expansion were central topics on Sept. 29, as U荔枝视频 welcomed the ambassadors from Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway for a panel discussion on world events and the ongoing battle for Ukraine.

Eriksson said February鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine saw Finnish public support for joining the world鈥檚 largest military alliance hit 62 per cent, when previously, 鈥渋t had never been over 30 per cent.鈥�

Demands to stay out of NATO backfired

The sentiment was echoed by Sweden鈥檚 Urban Ahlin, who said Putin鈥檚 demands that the two countries stay out of NATO, while at the same time ordering the invasion of Ukraine, was certain to backfire and convince citizens from both nations to join the alliance.

鈥淲hen the Russian president says that 鈥楽weden and Finland don鈥檛 really have a choice, I want to prevent them from becoming members,鈥� if he really wanted us to stay outside of NATO, that was the most stupid thing he could say,鈥� said Ahlin, ambassador of Sweden.

鈥淭hat left all the Finnish and Swedish people in a situation where 鈥榟e鈥檚 not going to decide what we do.鈥� So the decision was pretty simple. We applied for membership to NATO.鈥�

Both Sweden and Finland are expected to become full members of NATO by 2023, with only Turkey and Hungary left to ratify the deal under NATO鈥檚 current 30-country membership.

Full military contributors

The four ambassadors 鈥� also present were Hanne Fugl Eskj忙r, ambassador of Denmark, and Jon Elvedal Fredriksen, ambassador of Norway 鈥� made it clear the four Nordic nations would be full military contributors to NATO, and not just placid members.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very natural thing for Denmark to have Sweden and Finland join 鈥� we have been working so closely in military co-operation for a long time, and supporting each other,鈥� said  Eskj忙r.

Moderated by Dr. Rob Huebert, PhD, associate professor of Political Science, and director of U荔枝视频鈥檚 International Relations Program, The Nordics and NATO: The New Normal - Rebalancing Global Security included a Q-and-A session with the ambassadors.

Other attending dignitaries

Other U荔枝视频 dignitaries included Dr. Cheryl Dueck, PhD, senior academic director (international); Dr. Penny Werthner, interim provost and vice-president (academic); and Dr. Janaka Ruwanpura, vice-provost and associate vice-president research (international) .

Dr. Ed McCauley, U荔枝视频 president and vice-chancellor, also attended the event, while welcoming the guests and audience to a reception afterward.

Jason Luan, minister of community and social services spoke at the event, while Judith Romanchuk, hon. consul for Finland in 荔枝视频 helped to co-ordinate and also spoke at the event.

The Nordics and NATO event was co-organized by U荔枝视频 International, U荔枝视频 Political Science Department, the 荔枝视频 Consular Corps, the Canada West Foundation, Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI) and the liaison for the Nordic Ambassadors.