Swedish Def Min Hultqvist calls Russia’s security requirements ‘unacceptable’: Report
Russia’s latest security demands to the United States (USA) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have been described as “unacceptable” by Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist. He claimed that Russia’s demands would prevent Sweden from implementing the current security policy. “The goal is to establish a Russian sphere of interest where Moscow can exercise influence over countries in our immediate vicinity. We would also be affected by this, so it is simply unacceptable to us,” Hultqvist told the Swedish newspaper. Today’s news as reported by Sputnik.
Earlier on Friday, December 17, Russia’s Foreign Ministry presented a draft proposal for security guarantees between Russia and the United States, as well as for NATO countries in Europe. The proposals aim to restrict NATO from expanding in Eastern Europe. Among other terms, it also calls for a ban on the United States and Russia from placing medium- and short-range missiles within striking distance of each other’s territory. One of the most important conditions is that NATO stops its expansion. This would potentially exclude Sweden and Finland from joining the alliance, which is supported by several of their political parties, including the Swedish Moderates and the Finnish National Coalition Party.
“We have no intention of joining NATO, either now or later, and this is entirely a Swedish point of view that no one else should have an opinion on. We must be able to make assessments based on what we believe is best for the Swedish “It’s about our basic sovereignty and ability to make our own choices,” Hultqvist told the Swedish newspaper. Attempts to create areas of interest where some countries are considered superior to others are not at all acceptable, he added.
Russia may try to keep EU out of security policy talks: Josep Borrell
At the same time, on Monday 20 December, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, warned that Moscow could try to keep the European Union out of talks on security guarantees. He noted that Russia’s ultimate goal is unclear, except that it is trying to threaten and weaken Ukraine. “Different scenarios are possible. We can not rule out Russia’s desire to use the crisis as leverage for its stated goal of reshaping Europe’s security framework while excluding Europeans from the discussion,” Borrell said on his blog reported by Sputnik. The EU foreign minister also stressed that any Russian move against Ukraine’s sovereignty would have serious consequences, and expressed optimism that the United States would not allow Brussels to be excluded from security negotiations.