Sweden’s candidacy to join the NATO military alliance will be discussed Monday at a meeting of Nordic leaders in Iceland, in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
During a private meeting, Mr. Trudeau must also meet with his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, on the sidelines of the annual summit of Nordic leaders, which the head of government of Canada attends as a guest.
The two-day event follows a weekend of military chaos in Russia and comes ahead of the annual NATO leaders’ summit scheduled for mid-July in Lithuania.
The Nordic nations have all supported Ukraine, which has been defending itself since February 2022 against the Russian invasion.
The conflict also prompted Sweden and Finland to abandon their decades-old policies of neutrality and seek NATO membership. Canada was the first to back both bids and Finland was admitted in April, but Turkey and Hungary have both so far refused to endorse Sweden’s acceptance.
In addition to his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Kristersson on Monday, Justin Trudeau is due to meet with Jonas Gahr Stéré, the Prime Minister of Norway.
He met the prime ministers of Denmark, Iceland and Finland on Sunday as the summit got underway.
Saturday’s brief armed revolt in Russia by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin dominated discussions at the rally in Iceland. Security issues have been thrust to the forefront of the agenda of countries that share the Arctic with Russia and have growing concerns about the region’s stability and the effects of climate change.
Scientists say the Arctic Ocean is experiencing some of the most acute effects of global warming. Defense experts add that the melting ice is opening up new access to the region, but they point out that aggressive powers like Russia and China are taking notice.