Linda Åkerström, who has worked with the issue of arms exports for ten years, describes arms exports as a political explosive and the highest form of political approval from another state.
Even though Sweden does not have an actual embargo, it has been stopped since 2019.
- It is not the same, but the effects will be the same.
But the Swedish stop can be canceled at any time.
The next time a Swedish arms company submits an application to export to Turkey, the ISP may make a completely different decision.
If the stop is lifted, how do you think it would go?
- ISP listens very carefully to how the government expresses itself.
Every time the government expresses that Turkey has an important security policy role for Sweden or that it shares the same aspiration on certain issues.
Then it weighs into the ISP's assessment.
What is being said right now from the government is very important and will determine how the ISP behaves.
Interest in exports
Turkey has historically not imported any large quantities of weapons from Sweden.
But Linda Åkerström believes that there is an interest from the Swedish arms industry to export weapons to Turkey.
- There are informal contacts between the ISP and the companies and they can get an informal hum.
If we submit now, will we get yes now or not?
And then they do not send in if they receive signals that it does not matter.
She also believes that leading politicians are weighing their words extra carefully right now.
- It is important to listen carefully to what the government chooses to say on this issue.
When government representatives speak about Turkey, they know that the ISP is listening.
If the government wants the ISP to say yes to arms exports to Turkey again, it can influence this by emphasizing a security policy community.
That Turkey is important for Sweden and to hold back with its criticism.