Austin and Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson spoke at the joint press conference held after their meeting in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Jonson said that in their meeting with his US counterpart, they discussed Sweden’s membership in NATO, the Russia-Ukraine war and the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic region.
Stating that the issue of bilateral defense cooperation was also on the agenda during the meeting, Jonson said, “We are grateful for the continued support of the United States in Sweden’s application to NATO.” used the phrase.
‘MILITARY SUPPORT TO UKRAINE IS THE SMARTEST THING TO DO’
Recalling that he always said that supporting Ukraine was the right thing to do in his assessment of the Russia-Ukraine war, Jonson noted that their military support to Ukraine is also the wise thing to do.
Swedish Defense Minister Jonson continued his words as follows:
“This is needed so that Ukraine can reclaim the lost lands and regain its freedom. By supporting Ukraine, we are also investing in our own security, because of course Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, but it is also fighting for a safer and more secure Europe. Continuing political, economic and military support to Ukraine as long as needed is a top priority for the Swedish government.”
‘I HOPE THAT WE CAN JOIN NATO UNTIL THE VILNIUS SUMMIT’
Swedish Minister Jonson said, “US Minister Austin mentioned that Sweden is aiming to join NATO until the NATO Summit in July. How sure are you that this can happen?” He answered the question as follows:
“I am hopeful that we can join NATO by the Vilnius Summit. I think the Vilnius Summit will be a very important moment for alliances. The Alliance is ramping up its activities in deterrence and defense, with everything from regional plans to force capabilities and new command and control structures.”
‘SWEDEN FEELING MORE SAFE’
“Do you think these are dangerous times for Sweden? Are you worried about any vulnerability to Russian attack?” To this question, he replied:
“Sweden feels more secure. Now, after being invited to NATO, we are more militarily integrated than before. We are invited. We have recently received assurances about our safety from the US and other key partners. We see a much more active exercise model from the US and other countries around us, which increases our security. We want to be at the table to be a security provider to the alliance, and we think we can give the alliance strategic depth and make it better and more effective to show deterrence and defense, at least in the case of the Baltic states and Finland.”
‘WE EXPECT SWEDEN TO BE A MEMBER BEFORE JULY’
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also stated that with the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe is facing the most important security problem since the Second World War.
Thanking Sweden for its support to Ukraine, Austin stated that Sweden’s application for NATO membership was a brave step and said, “The full and strong support of the USA is with you. Finland has recently become the 31st member of NATO, Sweden’s We expect it to become the 32nd member soon. Frankly, we expect it before the NATO Summit in July.” said.
Expressing that they encourage Turkey and Hungary to approve Sweden’s membership, Austin emphasized that Sweden’s participation in NATO will make the alliance stronger and Europe safer.
Underlining that the Swedish army has a high combat capability and deterrence, Austin noted that in the question and answer part of the meeting, joint studies have been carried out with Sweden since the past and this country will always be an ally.
‘IT IS IMPORTANT FOR TURKEY TO HAVE MODERN CAPABILITIES’
Austin said the following in response to the question whether the decision by the United States to approve the sale of Link-16 modernization kits for F-16s to Turkey was made to persuade Turkey to join Sweden in NATO:
“Turkey is an important NATO ally. It is important that they have competent and up-to-date capabilities. I will not speculate on when their administration will make a decision. I just want to say that it is important that they make their decision sooner. Because we all have a very competent Sweden in Vilnius (NATO) this summer.” Summit), we look forward to having him sit next to us.”
Answering the question about what the US can do about countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s membership, Austin said, “What we have done so far is to encourage them to take this decision. I met with the defense ministers of the member states and they all think so. I am confident that these countries will take these decisions and I believe they will do that before July.” said.
‘AGE IS NOT THE PROBLEM’
Commenting on the leaked secret documents of the US army, Austin said that 21-year-old intelligence officer Jack Teixeira’s age did not prevent him from doing a task related to intelligence documents.
Noting that there are many young people who do important jobs in the military, Austin said, “The problem is not age, but how they do these duties and how they protect information.” he said. (AA)