Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) during Wednesday’s press conference.Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) has said that Sweden’s main foreign policy priority going forward will be to continue providing arms and money to Ukraine – and that the support will continue “as long as it takes”.
– Supporting Ukraine is our main task in the coming years, Billström said when presenting the government’s foreign policy statement on Wednesday morning.
It was confirmed that Sweden has so far sent aid packages worth around SEK 30 billion to Ukraine – including military aid, advanced weapons systems and economic support. It also supports Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
Sweden’s NATO membership also remains a top priority. The Foreign Minister says that “with Sweden in NATO, Sweden will be safer and NATO will be stronger”.
– Sweden is ready to become a full member of NATO… We will be a reliable, supportive and committed NATO ally, the Minister promised.
The situation in Gaza was also discussed. Billström, who has previously apologized for Israel’s bombing campaigns and the many civilian deaths they have caused, now used a slightly different rhetoric, pointing out that a negotiated two-state solution is the only way forward and that both Sweden and the EU support this.
– Settler violence must stop and the Palestinian Authority must address its lack of democratic legitimacy, he said, adding that a ceasefire was a necessity for purely humanitarian reasons.