SU-30SM, SU-35S, and SU-34 flying in formation - Sputnik International, 1920
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Denmark, Sweden and Norway to Patrol Baltic Sea Together and Share Reconnaissance Data

© AP Photo / Anders WiklundSwedish corvette HMS Stockholm patrols Jungfrufjarden in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, Monday, Oct. 20, 2014. Sweden's biggest submarine hunt since the dying days of the Soviet Union has put countries around the Baltic Sea on edge, with Latvia's foreign minister calling the incident a potential "game changer" in the region.
Swedish corvette HMS Stockholm patrols Jungfrufjarden in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden, Monday, Oct. 20, 2014. Sweden's biggest submarine hunt since the dying days of the Soviet Union has put countries around the Baltic Sea on edge, with Latvia's foreign minister calling the incident a potential game changer in the region.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.08.2022
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Earlier, Sweden and Finland utilized the “Russian threat” as a pretext to file applications for NATO membership, abandoning decades of non-alignment. The very same “Russian threat” has also been used as a convenient justification to inflate military budgets across Scandinavia.
The Nordic countries of Sweden, Denmark and Norway have announced a new agreement on military cooperation in the Baltic Sea.
The three countries will cooperate in patrolling the sea areas and share satellite images and radar data — a move presented as a means of stopping “aggressive” and “unacceptable” Russian behavior in the form of “regular violations by Russian military aircraft and warships.” Among other moves intended to ensure closer cooperation, Denmark will send liaison officers to both Sweden and Norway.
The Nordic countries' defense ministers presented the agreement symbolically in front of a Swedish patrol ship at the port of Malmö in Sweden, immediately after Swedish and Danish fighter jets had flown over in joint formation.
“We know what is going on in our waters”, Danish Defense Minister Morten Bødskov said, citing several “violations” of Danish maritime areas and airspace since the start of Russia's special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine and protect the inhabitants of the Donbass Republics, which he, in line with the rest of the West, referred to as an “invasion”.
Among other things, Bødskov referred to an incident on June 17 this year, when a Russian warship allegedly entered Danish waters near the the country's easternmost island of Bornholm — accusations Russia declined to comment on or corroborate.

“You don't do that by accident, and it is of course completely unacceptable,” the minister said, as quoted by Danish Radio.

His Swedish counterpart, Peter Hultqvist, argued that the agreement had drawn the three countries “closer” and showed that they can “take responsibility for this part of our geography.”
Flags of Finland, left, NATO and Sweden, right, are displayed during a ceremony to mark Sweden's and Finland's application for membership in Brussels, Belgium, Wednesday May 18, 2022. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the military alliance stands ready to seize a historic moment and move quickly on allowing Finland and Sweden to join its ranks, after the two countries submitted their membership requests. (Johanna Geron/Pool via AP) - Sputnik International, 1920, 13.07.2022
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The so-called “Russian threat” has been utilized before as a pretext for Sweden and Finland to abandon their long-standing non-alignment policies and file for joining NATO. In doing so, both cited a shift in the European security situation following the launch of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine they, too, referred to as “invasion”.
In return Russia pledged to closely follow the nations' actions and provide a “mirror response” to threats emerging from their membership in the alliance.
At the same time, the fictitious “Russian threat” had been used as a means to ensure a slew of military budget increases across Scandinavia, with Sweden announcing its decision to nearly double its military coffers earlier in April.
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