The leaders meet in Helsingborg: "Make peace please"

Niclas Vent

Published 07.43  

HELSINGBORG. 32 foreign ministers are swirling into Sweden, with both joy and shattered dreams in their wake.

Three fateful issues are on the agenda when Sweden hosts a formal NATO meeting for the first time.

- Marco Rubio is welcome here. He can bring a little common sense home perhaps, says Tina Melin, 58.  

Quick version

• Sweden is hosting a formal NATO meeting in Helsingborg where 32 foreign ministers are participating and discussing important issues such as defense spending, support for Ukraine and the situation in Iran.
• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasizes the importance of reducing dependence on the United States and urges Europeans to increase defense spending to five percent of GDP.
• Helsingborg residents express both joy and frustration over the meeting; some appreciate the significance of the event while others, like businessman Ahmet Kilinc, are negatively affected by the extensive security cordons.

The cordons are erected around the Congress Sea U convention center at Helsingsörskajen. The street outside is covered in NATO banners and scores of police are swarming everywhere. On roofs, on motorcycles, on jet skis and in cars.

         

          Tina Melin, 58, likes NATO, but is divided over Secretary General Mark Rutte. “I think he is a bit              of a lapdog to Trump. There is a lot he says that is good too, but sometimes you don't know which              leg he is standing on. If I were to send a greeting to Rutte? Don't be a lapdog. He should stand his              ground and put his foot down.” Photo: Andreas Hillergren

– I am happy and grateful that we are in NATO, and that we are given the honor of being the first city, little Helsingborg, to be part of this. I think that is fantastic, says Tina Melin.

For the first time, NATO is holding a formal foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden. Dinner at Sofiero Palace is planned for tonight, followed by formal discussions tomorrow.

         

         

 

        Sofiero Palace is cordoned off for dinner on Thursday. Photo: Andreas Hillergren

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte meets Ulf Kristersson in Revinge today, but already yesterday Rutte highlighted three priority topics for the meeting here in Helsingborg:

1. The five percent target

The US wants to reduce its involvement on our continent, and demands that Europeans arm themselves.

NATO must move away from “an unhealthy dependence on an ally”, according to Rutte.

NATO countries have already promised to move towards 5 percent of GDP in total defense spending. Now is the time to deliver, and turn promises into capabilities, says the Secretary General. It is about both increasing the effectiveness of the armed forces and expanding the defense industries.

Rutte and Trump in Davos in January. Photo: Evan Vucci /AP/TT

2. Ukraine

Under Trump, the US has reduced its support for Ukraine by 99 percent. Despite this, 70 percent of the missiles for Ukraine's Patriot batteries and 90 percent of the ammunition for other air defense still come from the United States, according to Rutte.

This is because Europe pays for the weapons, via the initiative called PURL.

 

          

        

 

        

An introductory dinner will be held at Sofiero Palace on Thursday evening. King Carl XVI Gustaf              and Queen Silvia, as well as Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, will also attend.

 

        Security is high ahead of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Helsingborg.
        1 / 2Photo: Andreas Hillergren

But the burden is very unevenly distributed.

It is an issue that S

weden, one of the major donors, wants to push at the meeting.

- We see a fairly clear geographical difference in the EU and NATO, said Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard in P1 yesterday.

- Where we, who experience Russia as a real threat, and are directly affected by how the war ends in Ukraine, invest significantly more in support for Ukraine. It is fundamentally problematic. More people would need to do more.

         

 

         

Maria Malmer Stenergard and Marco Rubio. Photo: Mark Schiefelbein / AP

When Ulf Kristersson and Maria Malmer Stenergard meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, they will push for increased pressure on Russia.

– This is our most important foreign policy priority. Then we have to point out all aspects. The support for Ukraine, but also the pressure on Russia, says Maria Malmer Stenergard.

         

         Heavily armed police at Sofiero Castle. Photo: Andreas Hillergren

3. Iran

The US war is not formally a NATO issue, but Iran will still be discussed at the meeting, according to Rutte.

Donald Trump has been angry with the Europeans, both because several countries have limited US access to bases and because no one has wanted to help open the Strait of Hormuz by force.

– The alliance always has debates and discussions about how we can contribute, as NATO, to what is happening. In my world, these are still informal discussions, Rutte said yesterday.

           

          Donald Trump's shadow falls over the NATO meeting. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Withdrawn troops

As always, Donald Trump's actions also cast a shadow over the meeting.

The US has unexpectedly withdrawn troops from Germany, and (as it seems temporarily) canceled a planned brigade rotation to Poland. Sources say that more measures are in the works.

 

         

         

“We like that they are here,” says Zakaria Rahma, 15, about the NATO meeting. Photo: Andreas                 Hillergren

 

Most of the people Aftonbladet meets in Helsingborg are still happy that the NATO circus has come to town.

– It is really nice that they are coming to Helsingborg, it is a nice city, says Zakaria Rahma, 15.

– NATO is good, because it is countries that stick together and can help each other.

But not everyone has good days.

          

          

Ahmet Kilinc, 58, has had his restaurant completely surrounded by barriers. Photo: Andreas                        Hillergren

Ahmet Kilinc, 58, runs the restaurant Il Mio opposite the congress center and was expecting a full house.

He bought extra supplies and prepared extra staff – but instead it was a disaster.

His entire restaurant is enclosed by the several-meter-high barriers, and all prospective guests have to get around the block via the narrow passage that has been left outside.

 

          

          

         “I think it’s great that it’s here in Sweden and Helsingborg, because I’m for NATO,” says Lena                   Franzén, 62. If she were to send a message to Mark Rutte, it would be: “Don’t spend so much                     money  on weapons, but trade instead.” “And don’t flatter Trump so much,” adds Anders                             Franzén,65, in.
         1 / 2Photo: Andreas Hillergren

Almost no one has done that.

“So far, no one has come. It’s actually difficult,” says Ahmet Kilinc, resigned.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is unlikely to be here either, but Ahmet Kilinc sends a greeting anyway:

“Make peace, please. That’s enough. We’ve suffered a lot. The whole world has suffered a lot. Make peace.

The area is under camera surveillance.

 

           

          

         1 / 2Photo: Andreas Hillergren

FACTS

NATO meeting in Helsingborg

• NATO foreign ministers have formal meetings twice a year. The meeting in Helsingborg is one of them. It is a prelude to the summit in Ankara, Turkey, on 7–8 July, when NATO heads of state and government will meet.
• Sweden is hosting, but the meeting is chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
• The politicians will gather for the formal meeting at the Sea U conference centre in central Helsingborg on Friday.
• An introductory dinner will be held at Sofiero Palace on Thursday evening. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, will also attend.