Carl Bildt on the expulsions: "Difficult to understand"

The decision to expel three Russian diplomats from Sweden was announced by Foreign Minister Ann Linde (S) on Tuesday.

- The threat picture is both military and civilian, the minister said then.

Bildt: "The threat picture is higher now"

Carl Bildt, former moderate prime minister and foreign minister, thinks that the Swedish line is very cautious.

- The threat picture is considerably higher after the war started and that is why many European countries are now throwing out pretty much everyone.

Denmark and several other countries, for example, have expelled ten times as many, he says in SVT's Morgonstudion.

The Swedish government has highlighted the risks of deporting too many - as it risks leading to Russian authorities sending home Swedish embassy staff as a backlash.

Sweden should not place too much emphasis on it, says Carl Bildt (M).

- We must be aware that what our embassy can do in Moscow right now is very limited.

It has very few opportunities for contact with the Russian opposition and Russian civilians.

According to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, there are a total of 35 Russian diplomats in Sweden, and according to the Security Police's assessment, every third of them conducts intelligence activities.