Factbox-Russia proposes Sweden or Austria as military model for Ukraine
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Ukraine could become an alliance-free or neutral state like Sweden or Austria, Russia said on Wednesday, as it seeks a compromise with Kyiv to end a three-week war.
Here are some facts about the military status of Sweden and Austria, both of which are members of the European Union but not of NATO’s military alliance. Ukraine has previously said it wants to join both organizations, a position that helped Russia decide to invade its southern former Soviet neighbor on February 24.
SWEDEN
– Sweden was neutral in World War II and part of the non-aligned movement during the Cold War, although it secretly collaborated with the United States to provide sensitive information about the Soviet Union.
– It renounced its formal neutrality when it joined the EU in 1995 and replaced it with a policy of military freedom of alliance.
– It has increased its links with NATO in recent years and regularly participates in military exercises. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson recently rejected calls for membership, saying it would destabilize Europe’s security.
– Sweden has participated in NATO and UN missions, for example in Mali, Afghanistan and Iraq, but most often in roles such as education and communication support.
– It works closely with a number of countries on defense issues, including the United States, France and neighboring Finland, which is also not a member of NATO.
– Sweden is part of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a British-led rapid reaction force with a focus on the North North, the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea region.
– None of its allies have formally undertaken to fight alongside Sweden should it be invaded.
– After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden said it plans to increase military spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible, the level that NATO members must meet, although most do not currently do so.
AUSTRIA
Moscow made Austrian neutrality, following the example of Switzerland, a condition for its independence when the country’s occupation of the four allied forces after World War II ended in 1955.
– In practice, Austria became a buffer zone between the Eastern Bloc and the West, but the countries around it are now all NATO member countries with the exception of Switzerland and little Liechtenstein.
– Austria has a relatively small and underfunded military. Its defense spending was only 0.6% of GDP in 2020, the second lowest level in the EU after Malta, according to Eurostat statistics, well below the EU average of 1.3%. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has proposed an increase of at least 1%.
– Austria is a partner of NATO, and participates in operations with a UN mandate under NATO command, as KFOR’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo.
Austria does not normally allow foreign powers to use or pass through its territory unless they act under a mandate from the UN Security Council.
(Report by Francois Murphy in Vienna and Simon Johnson in Stockholm; Edited by Gareth Jones)