Canada, Nordic countries vow closer collaboration as ‘middle power’ bloc

The leaders of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland have announced plans to band together and form a bloc of middle powers to influence world affairs, but they offered few details on how they would make that happen.

Prime Minister Mark Carney joined prime ministers from the other five countries in a summit on Sunday in Oslo. All six talked about deepening their co-operation and using their status as a group of Arctic countries to be a voice in NATO, the European Union and other multinational organizations.

“We are stronger together,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said during a press conference held in the ornate Government Guest House, the official residence of the prime minister.

“We believe that these six countries are not weak countries. They are strong countries in terms of their values, in terms of their determination.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen cited wars in Ukraine and Iran, as well as moves by the United States to ease some sanctions against the sale of Russian oil, as demonstrating the need for a “Nordic plus Canada” bloc.

“Countries like ours have to stand together. We have to stick together, and we have to work together,” she said.

“I think definitely there has been a void that has to be filled when it comes to global leadership,” added Iceland’s Prime Minister, Kristrun Frostadottir. “These are obviously difficult times in a way, but there are also opportunities that come from this.”

But it was far from clear how the six countries would work together and what positions they would take on various issues. They released a joint statement that was long on generalities about meeting more regularly and deepening co-operation in a range of areas, but short on specifics.

Mr. Carney gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland earlier this year highlighting what he called a rupture in the global order and how middle powers can succeed by uniting. He has spent much of his time since becoming Prime Minister looking for partnerships and trade deals beyond the United States.

In a sign of an enhanced commitment to Northern Canada, the federal government recently announced that it will spend billions to upgrade military installations there, a move aimed at defending North America and asserting territorial sovereignty in the Arctic.

Canada to spend nearly $35-billion to fortify North, assert sovereignty

At Sunday’s press conference, all of the leaders criticized U.S. Donald Trump’s stated goal of annexing Greenland, but they were vague about what their countries would do if the U.S. President tried to use force to take the island, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark.

Mr. Trump ruled out an invasion during a speech in Davos, Switzerland, in January, but many people in Greenland and Denmark believe the threat remains and that Mr. Trump could easily change his mind.

On Sunday, Mr. Carney said it was for Greenlanders and Danes to decide the island’s future. But when asked if Canada would send troops to defend Greenland in the face of a U.S. military threat, the Prime Minister was unclear.

“We stand four-square behind the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity,” he said. “We will back that with measures as necessary as a partner.”

The other leaders were equally non-committal. “I would approach that question by saying that NATO allies stand together,” said Mr. Store.

Ms. Frederiksen said her country welcomed the support Denmark had received from Canada and other allies.

“We have had a totally unacceptable pressure from the U.S. and the U.S. President, it has been very difficult for the people in Greenland to experience this,” she said. “So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for that. Now, we have to continue our work.”

The leaders also had few solutions on how to solve the war in Iran.

“We are not part of this war. We did not initiate it, but we are all affected by it,” Mr. Store said. “So, I think there’s a clear call here that international law must be respected, and it should be the responsibility of the concerned parties to find ways of ending the hostilities.”

They also differed on whether to support an initiative from French President Emmanuel Macron to expand France’s nuclear arsenal and cover more European countries. France is the only EU member that has nuclear weapons and Mr. Macron has proposed expanding its nuclear umbrella across the continent, which could involve moving missiles into other countries.

So far eight European countries – Britain, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden and Denmark – have agreed to participate in a new “advanced deterrence” strategy.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said on Sunday that his country was prepared to discuss the French proposal. “We are interested to do more, because we need to strengthen European deterrence,” he said.

Ms. Frederiksen said joining the French program was part of Denmark’s plan to deepen its commitment to NATO. “I think it’s positive from a European and from a Danish perspective, also to be stronger in this area, but it tends to go alongside with many other capabilities.”

Mr. Store ruled out nuclear weapons in Norway and added that NATO already has a nuclear deterrence. Ms. Frostadottir said her county also had no intention of changing its non-nuclear weapons policy.

Mr. Carney said Canada had no plans to develop nuclear arms, but he commended Mr. Macron’s initiative.

During the press conference, Mr. Carney was squeezed between Mr. Store and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, and he faced questions about Canada’s plans to acquire fighter jets and submarines.

Sweden is backing national giant Saab in a bid for the jet contract and Norway is supporting Germany’s TKMS in its offer to supply a dozen submarines. Mr. Carney declined to express a preference and said all of the bids, including from companies based in Asia and the U.S., were under review.

Mr. Store said he respected the Canadian bidding process but added that partnering with an ally was beneficial. “Beyond security and industry, it is really also creating a unity of purpose when it comes to security, because you are, in a way, integrated,” he said.

Mr. Carney ended his three-day trip to Norway Sunday and heads to London for a meeting on Monday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and an audience with King Charles III.

Mr. Starmer and Mr. Carney will discuss the Middle East in Monday’s meeting, and spoke Sunday night about the growing humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, according to a readout of the call released by Mr. Carney’s office.

Mr. Starmer’s office said the leaders will also discuss the impact of the ​Strait of Hormuz’s continuing effective closing to ⁠international shipping.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misspelled Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s surname. This article has been corrected.