Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson expressed the need for increased readiness for conflict. Europe must respond to the advancing Russian threat by unifying and investing in armies.
Europe should move from peaceful thinking to ready for armed conflict. The reason is the threat represented by Russia. This was announced on Tuesday by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in Berlin before meeting his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. According to the DPA report, TASR reports this.
According to Jonson, Russia will massively armor, developing a more “deadly” army, and is making great progress in the field of long -range weapons and electronic struggle. The Minister therefore called on the Allies within the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) in the field of defense to coordinate their steps to a greater extent.
Allies’ cooperation
“We are talking about diversity within the Alliance in terms of investment in defense. This is not good. I don’t want to see fragmentation there,” the Swedish Minister said at the event of the prestigious German Foundation Konrad Adenauer.
Last year, Sweden entered NATO in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This step – like Finland – has completed its decades lasting neutrality. Both countries justified the change of attitude with fear of their safety.
Call for cooperation
“Ukraine is perceived as a shield – or a sword, if you want – against Russian military expansion. But at present, we see that the burden of financial support for Ukraine is becoming less and less allies within NATO,” said Jonson, who arrived in Germany for a bilateral meeting with Pistorius.
At the event he also called for strengthening mutual defense cooperation between Sweden and Germany. According to him, the governments of both countries should support standardization and long -term contracts. Stockholm and Berlin are on a similar way in terms of their defense strategy, after a long period of inadequate financing, they invest record amounts in defense and at the same time face the same challenges resulting from the war in Ukraine and the Russian threat in the Baltic Sea, Jonson added.
