Sweden-US Defense Agreement Sparks Debate: Concerns Over Nuclear Weapons Presence

In Sweden, a debate is going on about a new defense agreement between the US and Sweden. according to The DCA contractwhich was signed last December, giving the US access to 17 military bases (including five airports) in Sweden.

The US has entered into Defense Cooperation Agreements, ie defense agreements, with other countries – including Norway and Finland.

me The DAC agreement with Norway it has been emphasized, up to several times, that nuclear weapons are not to be used on Norwegian soil. In the Swedish-American DAC agreement, which will be adopted in the Swedish Riksdag in June, nuclear weapons are not mentioned in a single word.

It is precisely this lack of conservatism that worries peace activists and some Swedish politicians. The evening paper writes that the defense deal was discussed, and points out that Sunday’s party leader debate highlighted a political divide on the issue.

– It was the best thing to do like Norway

Sverre Lodgaard is a senior researcher and former director of the Norwegian Foreign Policy Institute (Nupi). He says there is a big difference between verbal and written agreement when it comes to reservations against nuclear weapons being used on your own soil.

– For a long time, the US did not have any pressure against Norway, Sweden, Finland or several other European countries to use nuclear weapons, but the world has changed a lot now and so you don’t know for sure what will happen in that field better, says Lodgaard to Nettavisen.

– So if you think that it is not in the interest of these countries to have nuclear weapons on their soil, and that Sweden has a long tradition of being against nuclear weapons, the best thing would be do as Norway does, says Lodgaard.

– Things can change quickly

Kjølv Egeland has studied nuclear weapons diplomacy and is associated with the Institute of International Law. He does not know the details of the text of the agreement.

In general, Egeland says that there is little reason to believe that it will be appropriate to install nuclear weapons in Sweden in the future.

– At the same time, things can change quickly, and that is exactly what the opposition in Sweden thinks, says Egeland to Nettavisen.

As of today, there are believed to be approximately 150 US nuclear weapons deployed in Europe, spread among five NATO countries (Turkey, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy).

– The last time the US used nuclear weapons against a completely new country was in 1963, so this is not something you do very often, he says.

– This phenomenon of use in other countries is something that developed in the 1950s. This was a time before long-range nuclear weapons. Now the US has long-range missiles that can reach anywhere in the world, says Egeland.

Egeland says the race for long-range missiles entered a new phase after the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite into space in 1957.

– Then some in the US and NATO were worried that they would fall behind. That’s why they wanted to be able to have nuclear weapons closer to the front line in Europe, he says.

– In your opinion, what is the reason why Sweden, unlike Norway, leaves out in the text of the agreement a reservation against nuclear weapons being used on Swedish soil, Egeland?

– Don’t know. It is difficult to speculate.

Robert Dalsjö is a security policy expert at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute. He identifies five Swedish air bases that could be relevant for the use of American nuclear weapons: Ronneby, Såtenäs, Uppsala, Luleå or Vidsel.

– It is logical to choose one of them, in that case, Dalsjö adds The evening paper.

He emphasizes that it is unlikely that American nuclear weapons will be installed in Sweden.

– misunderstanding the text of the agreement

Kerstin Bergeå, who heads the Swedish peace group Freds, wants a strong reservation in the text of the agreement about the use of nuclear weapons in Sweden.

Bergeå believes that it is only a verbal guarantee that the US will not use nuclear weapons in Sweden.

“It’s not enough. We all know that political rhetoric can change quickly,” she writes in Aftonbladet-harmful.

“Our Scandinavian neighbors have much stronger positions than we do. Both Norway and Denmark have developed national reserves against nuclear weapons on their territories, which they announced at the NATO summit in 1957 and which have been confirmed several times since then,” she said. to write.

Green Party politician Emma Berginger is on it He previously called for a national ban on the use of nuclear weapons in Sweden.

However, the Swedish government believes that the skeptics have misunderstood the text of the agreement.

“The DAC agreement will not mean that nuclear weapons will be used in Sweden,” wrote Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) and Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) in Aftonbladet.harmful.

They claim that the agreement with the US is based on Sweden’s jurisdiction and consent.

“There is a broad political consensus, in the same way as other Scandinavian countries, that there is no reason to have permanent foreign bases or nuclear weapons on our land in peacetime,” wrote the two members of the government of the Sweden.