Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultkvist noted during his visit to Lithuania that in the event of problems in the Baltic Sea region, all countries should decide together, although some of them are not members of NATO.

"We believe that if something happened in our part of Europe, then we should all be involved in this or that way. Therefore, we must prepare for situations when we need interaction, close contacts and the opportunity to act together, "the minister said, quoted postimees.

Analysts say that it was Russia's actions that prompted the Swedes to think more positively about NATO membership, although the country's politicians have not yet initiated a discussion of this issue.

Hultquist argues that, despite the fact that Sweden is not a member of NATO, cooperation with neighboring countries is necessary, since it allows further increasing the capacity of national forces.

"If we look at the prospect of a military non-alignment, it can be done. But we do not change our military doctrine, "the minister said..

Asked whether Sweden would provide military assistance to Lithuania in the event of a crisis, he said that he did not want to speculate on scenarios that could be numerous.

"But most importantly - to discuss that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden all together can do together in this area. What we can do is prepare ourselves so that we can cope with the crisis together, thereby raising the bar so that a crisis scenario can not occur, "said Hulttqvist.