Carl Bildt on Ukraine: it's the biggest war we've had in our time

Former Prime Minister and Chief Diplomat of Sweden Carl Bildt was interviewed by TVN24 BiS reporter Jan Niedziałek on Wednesday during Impact'22 summit in Poznań.

Impact’22 is the most prestigious economic and technological event in Central and Eastern Europe, attended by top managers from the largest global companies, policy makers, regulators, eminent scientists, as well as world-class experts and speakers.

Asked about Sweden's and Finland's plan to join the NATO, Carl Bildt said: "I think we’re going to expect an official announcement, first by Finland and then by Sweden, in the next few days as a matter of fact, of their interest in joining NATO".

"Then it’s a proces inside NATO of course that is going to take a couple of weeks I think, and we have a proces of ratification by the member states. So I think we will have political signalling within days and then how long the formalities take in terms of ratification takes. Months or something like that, but it will happen.," he added.

In his opinion it would be a "highly significant change". "It’s important for our countries, but it’s also important for the entire European security order. It will signify a stronger NATO – stronger NATO in the Baltic area and Northern Europe – but I also think stronger transatlantic Alliance and as such I hope it will be seen – as an important contribution to the security of all of out countries," he explained.

Niedziałek also asked his guest about the significance of the war in Ukraine.

"At stake in this war is of course the future of Ukraine, the future of European security, and the future of Russia as well. So, practically everything. This is the biggest war we have had in our time. I was involved in the Balkan wars, but that was a different order. Then it was the question of the future of those particular countries and of the Balkan region. Here, much bigger issues are at stake," Bildt said.

He argued that "the Ukrainians have been masters in winning the hearts and minds battle with the Russians". "We often talk about the Russians being good in information warfare and other sorts of things, but you can never be good at those things if you don’t have a good cause. And aggression is not a good cause. The Ukrainians are fighting for the national survival and they have the sympathy of the world," said the former prime minister of Sweden.