According to Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, nuclear weapons will not be used on Swedish soil in peacetime.
– In a war situation, it is a completely different matter. Should the worst happen, democratic countries in our part of the world must of course defend themselves against countries that threaten to use nuclear weapons, he emphasizes.
Next month, the Swedish Riksdag will vote on the government’s proposed cooperation agreement with the US (DCA), which has been heavily criticized and, among other things, gives the Americans the right to station soldiers at 17 bases around Sweden.
Speaking on the Swedish state broadcaster P1, the Prime Minister said it was clear that no permanent troops or nuclear weapons would be deployed in Sweden during peacetime – but if Sweden were threatened by war, it would be different.
– If there is a war on our territory that Sweden is drawn into after an attack by others, it is a completely different situation. Then the whole of NATO benefits from the nuclear umbrella that must exist in the democracies as long as Russia has nuclear weapons.
– Sweden is in charge of Swedish territory, that is absolutely clear. Everything is done on Swedish terms, he continues, and also believes that Swedish NATO membership has made Sweden safer.