
Tension is high in Scandinavian countries. Sweden and Finland feel threatened by February, when Russia decided to invade Ukraine.
But recent statements by President Vladimir Putin, referring to Tsar Peter the Great and his battles in those very countries, have put the two European countries on alert, accelerating their military mobilization.
The two countries are taking part in some massive exercises on the island of Gotland, located between the two countries but also close to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.
About 7,000 troops from 14 NATO countries and 45 warships are taking part in the exercise. But it is precisely their forced entry into NATO, after half a century of neutrality, that has found a difficult stalemate to resolve, the opposition of a strong member of the Alliance, Erdogan's Turkey.
Ankara in particular accuses Stockholm of protecting, harboring and promoting Turkish elements deemed terrorists, and without a change in this approach the Turks do not seem to be giving the "green light".
In today's meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was optimistic about a solution to the situation, possibly starting with the summit that will take place in Madrid on June 29-30.
But the Finn Niinsto made clear the official Helsinki position. "Finland refuses to join NATO without Sweden. "Their issue is also ours," were his words.