Sweden is an important part of NATO’s new defense plan, which is to be determined at the summit in Vilnius at the beginning of next week. At the same time, Erdogan’s Turkey has refused to approve Swedish NATO membership.
– I mean that we have fulfilled our commitments in the agreement that we signed together with Turkey and Finland in order to be invited and ratified – then there have been a number of different demands from Erdogan that are not included in the agreement, says Ann Linde (S) , former foreign minister.
On Tuesday, the defense alliance’s heads of state and government will gather for a summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Most important on the agenda is approving NATO’s updated defense plans and agreeing on support for Ukraine.
The defense plans are the most comprehensive and detailed plans the alliance has had since the Cold War. They are about how NATO should defend itself against Russia and against terrorism.
Despite the fact that Sweden has not yet been approved as a member of the defense alliance, the Swedish defense plays an important role in the new plans. This is what the former Minister of Defense Ann Linde (S) believes.
– It is a very important summit that NATO has in Vilnius, with important decisions regarding Ukraine, funding and a new defense plan. Sweden has an important role there and that is one of the reasons why it is so important, not only for Sweden but for NATO, that we actually become full members, she says.
The plans are based on decisions made at last year’s NATO summit in Madrid. Then the NATO leaders gave their support to increase the alliance’s permanent military presence in Eastern Europe and to greatly increase the number of soldiers who can be deployed in a short time in the event of a conflict.
The Major General: Sweden will be integrated immediately
Today, NATO has access to task forces in the member countries of around 40,000
soldiers, who are available at very short notice. When membership is complete, Sweden will be included in the regional plan for northern Europe.
“When the entry happens, you can be integrated into the plans almost immediately,” said Major General Matthew Van Wagenen at NATO’s military headquarters at a briefing on Monday.
But first, the Turkish leader must feel satisfied that Sweden has met his demands. It is about, among other things, that Sweden must export weapons to Turkey, extradite people labeled as enemies of the Turkish state and put a stop to the kind of demonstrations that the state of Turkey can perceive as provocative.
Despite Erdogan’s tough demands, Ann Linde believes that Sweden may be approved.
– It is quite possible that you will receive some sort of positive message. But we know, having worked so closely with Turkey and Erdogan, that he is very unpredictable.