Sweden will not place nuclear weapons on its territory after joining NATO.

This was stated by Foreign Minister Tobias Billström.

He noted that in this matter the kingdom will follow the example of Denmark and Norway, which did not place nuclear weapons on their territory.

“This is still the long-term position of the Moderate Coalition Party.

We never intended to change the terms of the application submitted by the previous government, ”Reuters quotes him as saying.

However, not everyone believes that Stockholm will be able to stick to the declared course.

So, in particular, the Swedish newspaper Proletären warned about this.

The publication recalls that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Sweden, Mikael Byden, said earlier that the country's authorities should refrain from any preliminary restrictions on joining NATO.

At the same time, Norway and Denmark, which previously also actively opposed the deployment of nuclear weapons and alliance bases, eventually agreed to the construction of American military bases, Proletären points out.

Earlier, Finland also announced its unwillingness to host the alliance's nuclear weapons.

This was announced by the President of the country Sauli Niinistö.

Speaking at the opening of national defense courses, he stressed that after joining the alliance, Finland does not intend to import nuclear weapons into its territory and there are no signs that anyone is offering them to the Finns.

He added that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be waged.

At the same time, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not plan to change its nuclear positions.

nuclear alliance

Recall that Finland and Sweden announced their intention to join NATO after the start of the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and submitted relevant applications in May.

Thus, Stockholm and Helsinki abandoned the neutral status they had maintained for decades.

However, Turkey immediately opposed the entry of these states into the alliance, which has a number of political differences with Stockholm and Helsinki.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said earlier that Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled their obligations to Ankara, which are necessary for joining NATO.

  • American thermonuclear bomb B61

  • © Wikimedia Commons

It is worth noting that shortly before the discussion about whether the alliance's nuclear weapons would be deployed in Finland and Sweden, it became known that the United States plans to accelerate the modernization of its nuclear weapons stationed in Europe.

Thus, the Politico newspaper announced the postponement of the delivery of American B61-12 nuclear bombs to Europe to December this year.

"As US officials told NATO allies at a private meeting in Brussels in October, the delivery of the upgraded B61-12 free-drop bomb, originally scheduled for next spring, has been postponed to December this year," the newspaper writes, citing diplomatic sources.

The Pentagon, in response to a request for comment, said that the update of the arsenal was planned in advance and is not related to the current situation.

Recall that in Europe only France and Great Britain are members of the "nuclear club" and in total have almost 500 nuclear weapons.

At the same time, the US keeps a significant amount of nuclear weapons on the European continent.

Thus, a total of about 100 nuclear charges are deployed at air bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.

Recall that in October, NATO exercises on nuclear deterrence Steadfast Noon were held in Europe.

They were attended by the air forces of 14 member countries of the bloc and up to 60 aircraft of various types, including fourth and fifth generation fighters, observation aircraft and tankers.

NATO, however, called these maneuvers an ordinary annual event, which is not connected "with any events taking place in the world."

In violation of the NPT

In Russia, the deployment of American nuclear weapons in Europe is regarded as a violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

This, in particular, was stated by Vice Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev.

“According to the provisions of the NPT (clause 3 of article IX), the status of nuclear powers as the only legitimate members of the “nuclear club” is recognized for Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France and China.

At the same time, the United States, through the mediation of NATO, has been cynically and shamelessly violating the provisions of the NPT over the past years, ”Kosachev wrote in his Telegram channel.

  • Minuteman III ballistic missile launch

  • AP

  • © JT Armstrong

Citing the example of the transfer of American B61-12 nuclear bombs to Europe, Kosachev drew attention to the fact that "in fact, recently NATO movements of nuclear weapons and their components have become transcontinental, transboundary."

Kosachev also recalled that this violates Art.

I NPT, which states that countries possessing nuclear weapons must not transfer them or control over them to anyone.

In turn, Art.

II of the treaty states that non-nuclear countries undertake not to accept nuclear weapons directly or indirectly from anyone, Kosachev added.

“The provisions of the NPT must be kept in mind when carrying out the so-called joint nuclear missions of NATO, which de facto violate the first two articles of the NPT.

The provisions of the NPT must be remembered by Poland, which is asking for a candidate for the deployment of NATO nuclear weapons.

The provisions of the NPT should also be remembered by Ukraine, which intends to create a “dirty” nuclear bomb and use it.

Russia's fears are absolutely legitimate.

They are based on the facts of violations by the United States, NATO and Ukraine of the nuclear non-proliferation regime," the deputy speaker of the Federation Council emphasized.

As Andrey Koshkin, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Russian Federation, noted in an interview with RT, statements by individual officials in Sweden and Finland that there are no plans to deploy NATO nuclear weapons on the territory of these countries do not guarantee that they will not subsequently take such a step.

“Earlier they were not going to join NATO.

Therefore, current statements are not a guarantee that it will not appear there tomorrow.

Already, US nuclear weapons are being deployed at bases in five EU states that do not have a nuclear capability.

Its use and protection is provided by specialists from a formally non-nuclear country, which directly violates the NPT,” the expert explained.

For his part, RISS expert Sergei Ermakov believes that the assurances from Stockholm and Helsinki are aimed at reducing the heat around the nuclear rhetoric that has been heard recently.

“There is a very large amount of slyness here, since the military bloc acts systematically, and this decision can change based on the requirements of all its other members.

Then the storage of nuclear weapons on the territory of these countries will be a very escalating moment in relations with Russia, ”Ermakov emphasized in a conversation with RT.

According to him, within the framework of NATO, the American side routinely provides non-nuclear countries with the opportunity to work with nuclear weapons and the necessary means of its delivery.

“Additional guarantees are needed from Sweden and Finland to ease tensions on the issue of strategic stability.

However, it is also a question of trust, the degree of which is now extremely low.

We see that preparations are underway for the transformation of NATO's military infrastructure, which is being sharpened against Russia.

Of course, this will cause additional concern for the Russian Federation," Yermakov concluded.