Partnership for Peace was the first really solid move in that direction. Finland and Sweden have helped build a new security arrangement in Europe, Perry said. They reached out to the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, to Poland and the rest of Europe. Finland's military trains Estonian officers and NCOs. Nordic troops from Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway train the Baltic Battalion, a peacekeeping force in Latvia.
Nordic troops serve with U.S. forces in Macedonia and as part of the implementation force in Bosnia.
Denmark hosted the Conference on the Future of Baltic Sea Region Defense Cooperation Sept. 23 in Copenhagen. Its aim was to foster cooperation across the old NATO-Warsaw Pact lines, Perry said. These relationships have been more successful than trying to form relations on a massive scale with all the partnership countries, he said. During his visit to Helsinki, Perry met with Defense Minister Anneli Taina. Though Finland is not a NATO member, Taina said, the Baltic security situation is of vital interest to her nation.