You are here
Home > News > Sweden to allow NATO troops on its territory before it joins the alliance

Sweden to allow NATO troops on its territory before it joins the alliance

Sweden will allow NATO to base troops on its territory even before it formally joins the defense alliance, the prime minister and defense minister said on Friday, June 9.

Large scale joint military exercises hosted by Finland, Norway, Sweden

Jets from the Norwegian, U.S., Belgian, Dutch and Czech air forces took off from Oerland base in Norway and trained in the skies around it as part…

see more

Sweden applied last year to join NATO as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Objections from Turkey and Hungary have delayed the bid and Sweden now hopes to join NATO by next summit in Lithuania next month.

“The government has decided that the Swedish Armed Forces may undertake preparations with NATO and NATO countries to enable future joint operations,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Defense Minister Pål Jonson said.

“The preparations may consist of temporary basing of foreign equipment and personnel on Swedish territory. The decision sends a clear signal to Russia and strengthens Sweden’s defense,” they said in an opinion piece in daily Dagens Nyheter.

Russia would for the foreseeable future remain a threat against neighboring countries, they said, and they were uncertain of the extent of President Vladimir Putin’s territorial ambitions.

Fellow Nordic country Finland, which has a long border with Russia, joined NATO in April.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Top