Swedish Defense Committee: Russia Is a Potential Enemy
Allan Widman, the Chairman of Sweden’s Parliamentary Defense Committee, suggested that Russia may become a potential enemy that Sweden needs to watch out for. The events in Ukraine, the weak economy and the sharp plunge in oil prices may spawn unwanted conflict at Sweden’s doorstep.
"My assessment is the following: Sweden has been at peace for over 200 years but now the situation is serious enough that we have to be ready for a spillover of violent conflicts from our neighboring countries,” Widman said, as quoted by Expressen.
Meanwhile, Swedish armed forces have begun preparing for an armed confrontation that may erupt "in a few years.” Major General Anders Brännström, Chief of the Swedish Army, noted the seriousness of concerns in the run-up to large scale training scheduled for February. He recalled the development plan of the Swedish Defense Forces for 2016-2020, highlighting the clear need for increasing the capacity to fight with a strong enemy.
A specially made brochure for training orientation cites Brännström as saying "the current situation in the world—and it also derives from our national defense strategy—leads to the conclusion that in a few years we may be in a state of war."
Earlier, an expert of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), Edward Lukas, stated that in March, Russia held training exercises that practiced the seizure of Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Lukas, author of the book "A New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both Russia and the West,” alleged that Russian armed forces simulated control of specific regions: The Aland Isles, which belong to Finland,