Defense ministers of 12 European countries held a meeting on regional security in Iceland in connection with the threat posed by Russia’s military operation against Ukraine. This has been reported Official website of the Icelandic government.
“The Ministers issued a joint statement condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and emphasizing their solidarity in the face of the threat posed to security in Europe and the North Atlantic region,” the government said in a statement.
On the sidelines of the meeting, it was noted that Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Gilfadottir and Danish Defense Minister Morten Bydskov signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen security and defense cooperation between the two countries.
“It’s important for us to be able to give our closest allies and partners an insight into how we manage our security and defense in Iceland and how we contribute to our shared security environment in the North Atlantic and Arctic as a non-military nation. This is what we discussed at our meeting this morning. and it is also important in light of the security situation in Europe, which affects all of our countries,” he said.
The Northern Group (Northern Group 12 – NG12) is a security and defense forum made up of twelve Scandinavian countries. It includes all Scandinavian countries, the Baltic states, as well as England, the Netherlands, Poland and Germany.
Morten Bedskov, former Danish Minister of Defense declarationHe said the future will see “higher than ever” levels of tension in the Baltic region.
He also added that he foresees “an increase in Russian aggression and presence in the Baltic Sea” and that the Nordefco countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden) plan to discuss a possible joint response in connection with these. predictions.