Contents tagged with Sweden

  • Sweden does not recognize results of Russian elections in Crimea

    Sweden will not recognize the election results of the Russian State Duma, which were held in the annexed Crimea. This was posted by the Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström on Twitter.

    “We condemn Russia’s actions with regard to the elections of the State Duma in the illegally annexed Crimea. We do not recognize those who will be “elected” in the Crimea,” Wallström said.

    Newly appointed US Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, said that Washington also does not recognize the …

  • Sweden has stationed troops on the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea

    The supreme commander of the Swedish Armed Forces gave an order to permanently deploy 150 soldiers to the island of Gotland. The decision entered into force on September 15 at 7 a.m., the Local reported.

    Swedish leaders had previously agreed to permanently deploy soldiers on the strategically located island in the Baltic Sea beginning in late 2017, but early in the morning of Wednesday, September 14, about 150 soldiers from mechanized infantry forces taking part in military drills on the …

  • The Foreign Ministers of Finland and Sweden agree on the need for a common approach towards Russia

    The Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Margot Wallström, and the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini, met in Stockholm and discussed, in particular, Russia's proposal to hold consultations on the security of the Baltic Sea region. According to the Ministers, the country was encouraged to follow a united approach regarding the Russian Federation, YLE reports.

    Soini was skeptical about holding the bilateral consultations with Russia regarding security issues in the Baltic Sea …

  • US company to build nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine

    Ukraine has reached agreements with Westinghouse with regard to the increase of supply, and the future construction of a nuclear plant in the country. Interfax-Ukraine reported that this was said by the Minister of Energy and Coal Mining of Ukraine, Ihor Nasalik.

    “We have agreed on the diversification of supplies to nearly half of the nuclear units. We have also agreed to build a nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine,” Nasalik said.

    He said that they reached these agreements during his recent trip to …

  • Unidentified drone spotted over NATO exercises in Sweden

    Unknown UAVs flew over the prohibited area of Utö (island in Sweden) where the BALTOPS NATO military exercises were being held with Sweden and Finland. The incident took place in June; however, it was kept secret, Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter reports.

    Part of the exercise was held from June 10-13 on the island of Utö. There, marines from Sweden and Finland were practicing with colleagues from the U.S.A., Great Britain and Germany. Flights were prohibited during the exercises.

    "We have …

  • Sweden has approved an agreement that will allow NATO troops to be placed in the country

    On Wednesday, the Swedish Parliament voted in favor of the so-called Host Nation Support Agreement (HNSA). This agreement may allow NATO to deploy its forces to the country. This was reported by The Local.

    Sweden signed the agreement with NATO in September 2014. The document allows the Alliance to transport helicopters, aircraft and ships through Swedish territory, but only at the invitation of Sweden.

    Due to the fact the agreement calls for changes in Swedish law to allow NATO military …

  • Sweden and Finland strengthen cooperation with NATO

    The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, stated in an interview that Sweden and Finland, which aren’t members of NATO, attended a NATO Ministerial meeting that took place on the 20th of May, as reported by a correspondent for European Pravda in Brussels.

    “Finland and Sweden – EU Member States, but not NATO Member States - will join us. It will be an important indicator of our level of cooperation,” Stoltenberg stated.

    The High Representative of the …

  • Swedish Ministry of Defense: Russia’s actions in the Baltic are aggressive and provocative

    At a conference in Estonia, the Swedish Minister of Defense, Peter Hultqvist, said that Russia's actions in the Baltic are aggressive and provocative.

    “Recently we witnessed the unprofessional and dangerous behavior of Russian war planes over the Baltic Sea. They flew in a direct proximity over USS Donald Cook vessel,” he said.

    “There have also been other such incidents, and from our side we understand how it feels to be a victim of such provocative behavior” he added.

    “Irrespective of the …

  • Swedish PM: We are not interested in Moscow's opinion regarding Sweden joining NATO

    The Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, in response to comments made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on the possibility of Stockholm joining NATO, stated that Stockholm does not need Moscow’s opinion to make decisions.

    Löfven noted that the words of the Russian Minister were "absolutely useless," emphasizing that no one seemed interested in Moscow’s opinion regarding this issue.

    "In Sweden we make our own decisions regarding defense and security policy. In this regard we …

  • Lavrov: Russia will take 'measures' if Sweden joins NATO

    According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow will respect any decision on the issue of Sweden’s ascension to NATO, but will "take the necessary military-technical measures" if the Nordic country does join the Alliance. Lavrov stated this in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on April 28th.

    “It’s every country’s right to decide what form its security should take, but you must understand that if military infrastructure approaches Russia's borders, we would of …