Sweden’s prime minister ruled out nuclear weapons on his territory in peacetime. However, he indicated that in the event of war, the country could adopt a different regime.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Friday ruled out the possibility of French nuclear weapons being stationed in his country in peacetime. However, he stated that war could change this situation. TASR informs about it according to the AFP agency.
Kristersson explained Sweden’s position during a visit to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is currently anchored in Malmö.
“We have a clear doctrine in Sweden, which we confirmed last time when we joined NATO. It stipulates that in peacetime we do not have foreign soldiers or nuclear weapons permanently stationed on Swedish territory,” he told reporters after being asked about the possibility of hosting French nuclear weapons. “The doctrine is in place, so that’s not an option,” he stressed. He added that “if there was a war that involved us in any way, then it would be a completely different situation.”
They appreciated the presence of weapons
After two centuries of military neutrality after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Sweden applied to join the North Atlantic Alliance. It became the 32nd member of NATO in March 2024.
The United States and Russia have thousands of nuclear warheads, but in Europe only France and Britain possess atomic weapons; their total number of warheads is in the hundreds, AFP recalled. European leaders have begun to consider the lack of this deterrent at a time of growing uncertainty over US military support for the continent.
“As long as Russia has nuclear weapons in our immediate neighborhood, it is good that two European democracies also have nuclear weapons,” Kristersson said.
