The defense ministers from the Nordic countries went on a tour along Norway’s Arctic border to Russia before they landed by helicopter at the Svanvik border station (a base for the military units that guard the area): the Nordefco (Nordic defence cooperation) meeting comes at a time when both Finland and Sweden are expected to announce soon their decision to join NATO (Norway, Denmark and Iceland already being NATO members). The defense ministers are convinced that a joint Nordic region within NATO will only strengthen cooperation between the countries. Read more: Thebarentsobserver