Sweden must abhor nuclear weapons as a NATO member, says the foreign minister
STOCKHOLM, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Sweden plans to declare that nuclear weapons cannot be stationed on its territory when it joins the NATO military alliance, following in the footsteps of its Nordic neighbors, Sweden’s foreign minister told local news agency TT on Friday.
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO earlier this year in a move triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So far, the application has been ratified by 28 of NATO’s 30 countries.
Sweden’s commander-in-chief raised eyebrows this month when he recommended that the government not insert any red lines in the final negotiations with NATO, such as a ban on permanent alliance bases or nuclear weapons on Swedish soil.
However, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that Sweden would join Denmark and Norway in unilaterally declaring that they would not allow nuclear weapons in Sweden.
That is still the Moderates’ long-term position, he tells TT. “We never intended to change the terms of the application submitted by the previous government,” he said.
A moderate-led alliance won the parliamentary election in September, ending eight years of social democratic rule in Sweden.
Reporting by Johan Ahlander; editing by Niklas Pollard
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