Sweden, whose candidacy for NATO membership is currently blocked by Türkiye and Hungary, is ready to host temporary NATO military bases on its soil even before it becomes a full member of the Atlantic Alliance, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced on Friday.
“The government has decided that the military can undertake preparations with NATO and NATO member states to enable future joint operations,” the prime minister wrote in an article signed with the defense minister, Pal Johnsonin the newspaper “Dagens Nyheter”.
“These preparations could include the temporary stationing of foreign material and personnel on Swedish soil,” they wrote. “The decision sends a clear signal to Russia and strengthens Sweden’s defense.” The presence of NATO troops would serve as a deterrent against any possible Russian action from across the Baltic Sea.
Sweden has been a NATO “guest” since June 2022, but its offer, which must be ratified by all 31 member states, has been blocked by Türkiye and Hungary. Only full members are covered by the collective defense clause of the NATO article 5according to which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoganhas given no indication, since his re-election at the end of May, whether he plans to endorse Sweden’s NATO bid.
Western nations, and the United States in particular, have been pressuring Ankara to give its green light, insisting that Sweden has complied with the terms of a deal agreed with Ankara last year.
That agreement includes a commitment to take crack down on Kurdish opposition movementssuch as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), included in Ankara’s blacklist, which considers them “terrorist” groups, like the US and the EU.
But Turkey has also demanded that Stockholm extradite dozens of activists living in Sweden whom it also labels “terrorists”. The Swedish government has insisted that it cannot make such decisions, as its judiciary is independent.
In addition to bidding to join NATO, Sweden also increased his military spending after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
