Sweden is not yet a member of NATO but is nonetheless charging ahead with military exercises involving NATO members. The Aurora-23 international military exercise kicked off on Monday. It runs until May 11, with the United States, Britain, Finland, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Denmark, Austria, Germany, and France taking part, said the Swedish Defense Ministry, reported TASS. The purpose of the exercise is to “improve the combat readiness of the armed forces” in the event of a hypothetical armed attack on Sweden. “The exercise is one of the main tools of enhancing, testing and demonstrating combat readiness,” the Defense Ministry said. “Together with military units from our partner countries, we strengthen security while enhancing Sweden’s operational capabilities.” Some 26,000 troops are taking part, mostly in the south of Sweden and on Gotland Island.
Meanwhile, Swedish membership in NATO is unlikely to come before September. TASS reported separately that a number of politicians in Turkey—the country whose vote is holding up the accession of Sweden into NATO—told Swedish reporters that, after the May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, Turkish lawmakers would be hard-pressed to consider the “Swedish issue” ahead of a summer break that traditionally lasts from June until September.
