Since the announcement came on Monday evening that Turkey welcomes Sweden into NATO, questions have been raised about what this means for Sweden and for the Swedes. Among other things, there has been concern whether entering a nuclear weapons alliance could mean that tactical nuclear weapons are placed on Swedish soil.
Will nuclear weapons be placed in Sweden?
SVT Pål Jonson asked that Currentwhich was broadcast live from the NATO summit in Vilnius.
– I don’t judge that. There are no such expectations from NATO’s side, to deploy tactical nuclear weapons. As little as there are expectations for other Nordic countries, there are none for Sweden to have it, said Pål Jonson (M).
– But on the other hand, we will of course have to stand up because NATO is a military alliance that is based on both conventional deterrence and nuclear deterrence, he added.
What does NATO mean for conscription?
Another issue raised is what Turkey’s announcement might mean for conscription. It is unclear whether conscripts from Sweden can be sent abroad to fight for NATO, according to the defense minister.
– That remains to be seen. The way the legislation is formulated now, conscripts must be used for the defense of Sweden. But it is clear that one can discuss where it begins and ends when we are part of a defense alliance. But we have an investigation that looks into it, said Pål Jonson.
Ukrainian pilots can be trained in Sweden
On Tuesday, Pål Jonsson said that Sweden will contribute to training Ukrainian pilots to fly American F-16 aircraft. Since Sweden does not own any F-16s, we can instead contribute with practice areas, training on the Gripen system and training in English.
– We will start orientation training on the Gripen system here in August and in a few weeks, Ukrainian pilots will be able to test fly the Gripen and practice on simulators, said Pål Jonson.
See Aktuellt’s entire broadcast from the summit in Vilnius here.