Finland and Sweden Submit NATO Membership Applications
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on May 18 that Sweden and Finland had officially applied to join NATO. The application must now be weighed by the 30 member countries. That process is expected to take about two weeks, although Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ex-pressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining. If accession talks go as expected, the two could become members within a few months, NPR reports. (Pg 2)
U.S. Intelligence Chief Visits Estonia
Avril Haines, the U.S. State Intelligence Director, visited Estonia to participate in the Lennart Meri Security Conference and to meet with representatives of the Estonian government. Haines met with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Director General of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service Mikk Marran. She participated in a panel at the Lennart Meri conference alongside Piotr Krawczyk, Poland’s Head of the Foreign Intelligence Agency, discussing the links between war, intelligence and social media in the context of the war initiated by Russia. The website of the Lennart Meri Conference: https://lmc.icds.ee/ (Pg 3)
Almost 15,000 Soldiers Taking Part in Large-Scale Training Exercise
The military exercise SIIL (Hedgehog) 2022 will take place in Estonia from May 16 to June 3. Approximately 15,000 conscripts, reservists, active duty servicemen, members of the Estonian Defence League and allies from ten countries are taking part. The main goal of SIIL 2022 is to check the combat readiness of the Defense Forces and their ability to respond to threat scenarios in an international framework. The main maneuvering activities of the units will take place in Southern Estonia and combat shooting exercises at the Central Training Area of the Defense Forces, as well as on Saaremaa island, mil.ee reports. (Pg 6)
