Swedish Foreign Minister: NATO must get ready for a Russian attack | DW News

Sweden has become the 32nd member of the NATO military alliance. It has joined its neighbor Finland in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. NATO is preparing for a long period of extreme tensions with Russia, Sweden could prove crucial... with a Swedish island you may have never heard of possibly holding the key to defending the Baltic States in a conflict scenario. The Swedish Foreign Minister is here in Berlin; We talked to him about where this could all be headed. Tobias Billström, thank you for joining Deutsche Welle. Now, Sweden joins NATO just as the alliance prepares for the threat of possible conflict with Russia sometime in the coming years.

How real is that threat in your opinion? First of all, Sweden wants peace and NATO wants peace. It is not Sweden and NATO that are the problem. The problem is Russia. It is Russia that is behaving irresponsibly and recklessly and threatening the world with nuclear weapons and behaving in a way that is unacceptable. So I would like to put it this way. We have to understand that we are in for a prolonged period of conflict with Russia. This applies to NATO, it applies to the EU and we have to adapt accordingly. You said in your speech today here in Berlin that you are concerned about the possibility that Russia will try to test NATO.

For example, an example that people talk a lot about is the Baltic states. Explain your concern there. Well, first of all, we have to go back to Ukraine to understand this because Ukraine is now in a situation where it is under

attack

from Russia and has been for two years. Supporting Ukraine in every possible way, military, financial and political, is of utmost concern because if Russia were to win in Ukraine, that would definitely increase appetite. Russia is on the way to recovering its former imperial assets, including the Baltic States, Poland, etc. But, above all, we are talking about Ukraine, which is Putin's first objective.

Yes, let's talk about Ukraine in a moment. But if we look at a scenario involving the Baltic states where Putin was perhaps trying to test NATO there, Sweden could be absolutely critical to that potential conflict, in part because of the island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Could you explain why Gotland is so important? Well, the most important thing is that I would like to start by joining NATO because now Sweden and Finland are members of NATO and being members of NATO has contributed significantly to stability and security in this part of the world. If we join NATO, all countries that have a coastal zone around the Baltic Sea, except Russia, will be members of NATO and that will of course mean a greater degree of security for both the high north and the North Atlantic. and the Baltic.

Mar, who are now joining together. So Gotland, of course, is an important island in this, but Gotland is part of a broader discussion about security in the area and that has now increased significantly with our accession to NATO. And specifically on Gotland, so Gotland has strategic value there. Could you just describe the value there and also tell me, you know, what preparations we can expect now for Sweden in NATO to make Gotland safer? Well, first of all, once again, Gotland is of course important and is part of my country's territory, but Gotland is now also part of NATO territory and that means that we are now going to invest in the forward ground presence that NATO has in Latvia.

Sweden is going to deploy part of a mechanized battalion in Latvia. This was al

ready

said before we became members of NATO. We are al

ready

part of the air police and we are also going to bring our important and substantial naval forces to the table, which will also increase security around Gotland and in the Baltic Sea, with Sweden being one of the few countries that actually has submarines in the Baltic Sea. Now, Gotland has had less than 400 troops in recent years. What is the   trajectory there? What can people expect? Will this then become an island with thousands of troops present?

We are increasing our presence, but, again, this is also part of NATO membership and we will work together with other partners to now draw up regional plans and strategic concepts and in this, of course, Gotland and the part the Baltic Sea area and Sweden and other countries. That work is underway. Sweden is going to participate in all the committees that deal with this within NATO and we will see, of course, what the final solutions will be. However, we would not like to see any regionalization. This is not very appreciated in NATO and Sweden does not believe in it.

It is up to SACEUR, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the head of NATO's military forces, to ultimately come up with what he believes are the best solutions to this. We have already talked about Ukraine. Let's get back to that. So of course he is still fighting Russia and needs urgent help. There has been a lot of talk about Sweden providing the Saab Gripen fighter jet to Ukraine, but there has been no announcement yet. When can we expect an announcement? Well, the short answer is that the Swedish military has submitted a report and it is now being discussed in government offices.

When that analysis is ready, we will be ready to give an answer, but that is not the time right now. I mean, it's often frustrating for Ukrainians to see how these processes are carried out. We all remember what happened with the tanks and the deliberations here in Germany, the deliberations within the United States about fighter jets. Why were these deliberations not made last year? What is the delay? Well, Sweden has joined the F-16 coalition, which was launched last year, and the F-16 coalition, through the deployment and ability to provide Ukraine with fighter aircraft, will substantially increase Ukraine's air defense forces .

That work is now underway and several countries are joining it, and Sweden is part of the F-16 coalition, although we do not have F-16s, but we have other capabilities. So on the Gripen, can we expect anything in weeks, months, this year? Tobias Billström  I'm not really in a position to give you an exact date. What I can say, of course, is that the report from the Swedish armed forces is important to us and it needs to be deliberated upon in government offices before we are ready to give a final response. Now, let's look at Sweden's overall support.

I mean, you've been very vocal, and you did so in your speech here today and described Sweden as one of the most prominent donors to Ukraine. But if we compare Sweden's contribution with that of its Nordic neighbors, in terms of percentage of GDP, according to figures from the Kiel Institute here in Germany, Sweden is in fourth place. We have Denmark in first place, with 2.4% of GDP so far, Norway in second place with 1.7%, Finland in third place with 0.7% and Sweden far behind with 0.5 %. Now, that puts it on par with Germany, but wouldn't you rather be... I mean, are you happy with fourth place in the Nordic states?

Well, first of all, I have faced this argument before, and the problem with the Kiel Institute report is that it does not take into account all the packages that have been decided but not yet delivered. And that adds up... it has to add up to the math, and that would get us to a much higher position than the one you gave. In addition to this, I would like to say that the things we have donated, in particular the CV90 armored vehicles, have been praised by the Ukrainian government. When President Zelensky visited Sweden in August, he said: "Thank you very much for these vehicles, which save Ukrainian lives because they are of very good quality." So we are doing a lot.

We are prepared to do more. Now we are also joining the Czech initiative for the acquisition of ammunition, also outside the European Union. And we are ready to do more. This is a long-term commitment for the Swedish government and we will increase the support we provide to Ukraine. The important thing now, however, is that we and the EU have to stop using donation packages. We have to find a formula for long-term support for Ukraine, both financially and militarily. I mean, there are many such comparisons and competitions between countries. At the moment it is quite hot between Germany and France.

Emmanuel Macron has talked about the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine at some point. You said today that you do not see that option as an option for Sweden. Do you think it is a bad idea for any NATO member state, or is it just Sweden that doesn't see it as a possibility? Well, first of all I speak, of course, on behalf of Sweden. But I think that at this moment we have to listen to what the Ukrainian needs and what the Ukrainian asks for. And that

must

be done jointly and in collaboration with the Ukrainian government.

And what they ask for, of course, are the training missions in which Sweden has participated. Interflex in the UK is a very prominent example of this, where we have trained almost a brigade to improve the Ukrainian armed forces. So we should do more, of course, but that doesn't mean we necessarily have to do it on Ukrainian soil. We can also achieve a lot outside Ukraine. Just a very quick question. We're wrapping up now, but there's a lot of pessimism right now about Ukraine, that it can win, that it can achieve its goal, which is to get all of its territory back.

Are you sure you can still achieve it? Yes I am. And, in fact, I don't feel any fatigue, nor does my country. In fact, Ukraine has the highest numbers in favor of supporting Ukraine. We are at 90%, which is the highest in the European Union. The reason we are doing this is because we see that there is a big risk that Russia's appetite will only increase if it wins in Ukraine. And that will threaten the Baltic States, Finland, Poland and, ultimately, ourselves as well. We have to see this war as it is. It is a war between a country that feels no limits, that wants to recover its old imperial past, and that

must

be stopped.

We don't do that anymore. We do things differently today. And the European Union has to accept this and prepare for a protracted conflict with Russia and do what is necessary, increasing the production of military means to support Ukraine and make sure that Ukraine really regains its territorial sovereignty and also puts a stop to Russia. once and for all. Tobias Billström, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.