Sweden will not permit NATO to position nuclear weapons on its soil, Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told local news outlet TT on Friday, clarifying comments made earlier this month by the country’s defense minister.
“It is still the long-term Moderate Party position” to forbid nuclear arms on Swedish soil, Billstrom said, explaining “we have never intended to change the conditions for the applications submitted by the previous government.” Led by PM Ulf Kristersson, the Moderates took power in September after years of governance by the Social Democrats.
Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Micael Byden last week told reporters that Sweden should not “set reservations” on NATO’s use of its territory before finalizing its accession to the bloc, refusing to rule out hosting the alliance’s nuclear weapons as he pledged to increase military spending and double the number of conscripts in the Swedish military. His words elicited an outcry from the Social Democrats, who demanded an explanation as to why the new government had abandoned the parties’ agreement not to host atomic weapons.