Swedish Defense Minister: War could come to Sweden
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Swedish officials are concerned about the "war coming to them".
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Turkey’s President Erdogan, left, shakes hands with Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, right, as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg looks on before a meeting ahead of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, July 10, 2023. (AP)
Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstorm, stated at the Folk och Forsvar National Conference in Salen, that his country's expected membership in NATO is " the biggest change in Swedish security policy in more than 200 years."
Billstorm showed severe concern that "Russia will constitute a serious threat to the security of Sweden and Europe for the foreseeable future," and emphasized that Sweden should be ready for a "drawn-out confrontation".
Defense Minister Pal Jonson declared that Ukraine is acting as Europe's shield in the conflict, with Russia showing concern that the war might also come to Sweden.
Sweden's Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, announced that to support the 2,000 Canada-led troops stationed in Latvia as part of the military bloc's Enhanced Forward Presence in the Baltic states, Sweden will be deploying 800 soldiers next year.
It is important to note that last year, Sweden ditched its policy of non-alignment in favor of joining NATO.
Russia: NATO a threat to national security
"Arena for confrontation", is how the Russian Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, described the actions of the West towards Europe.
Moscow also declared that NATO countries are de facto participants in the Russia-Ukraine conflict due to their deliveries of weapons and money to Kiev.
On December 26, a key committee in the Turkish parliament approved Sweden's NATO membership bid, overcoming months of delays.
The NATO membership bids of Sweden and Finland received swift approval from all NATO members, excluding Turkey and Hungary. Despite initial reluctance, Turkey and Hungary eventually acquiesced, and Finland became NATO's 31st member in April.
Erdogan withdrew his objections to Sweden's NATO membership in July, following measures taken by Stockholm against Kurdish groups labeled as "terrorists" by Ankara. NATO allies, particularly France, have emphasized the importance of Turkey's cooperation, stating that the credibility of the alliance is "at stake".
