The defence ministers of Finland, Norway and Sweden signed a joint Statement of Intent (SOI) when convening in Lakselv, Norway on Wednesday, announcing wider military cooperation, according to the Finnish Ministry of Defence. The new agreement, aims to boost better defence cooperation in the High North for current and future military operation plans.

Norwegian Defence Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen also emphasised plans to create a joint committee to discuss the security situation and defence policy issues in the north.

The countries are already linked through the Nordic defence co-operation NORDEFCO, which also includes Denmark and Iceland.

In August, Sweden initiated “high readiness action” in the Baltic Sea area in what Defence Minister Hultqvist also described as a signal to Russia, despite the fact that Sweden's own military estimated the chances of an attack against the country as “low”.

Bilateral Russian-Norwegian relations, while traditionally good, have in recent years been marred by reciprocal espionage charges, mutual distrust and military build-ups.

Pictures downloaded from thebarentsobserver.com webpage