Sweden

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said Sunday at the annual security conference “Folk och Försvar” that Sweden’s primary foreign policy task in the coming years will be support for Ukraine, TT reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy opened the conference with a speech via video link, thanking Sweden for “solidarity with the Ukrainian people”.
    Billström said Sweden will be a “reliable, solidarity-based and committed NATO member.” He stressed that Sweden’s upcoming NATO membership would be the biggest change in Swedish security policy in over 200 years. “This means both a great responsibility and new opportunities to strengthen our freedom and security – not least for Swedish diplomacy,” Billström said, according to TT.
     According to the Foreign Minister, Sweden must expect that Russia will pose a serious threat to Sweden’s and Europe’s security in the foreseeable future. “We have to be realistic and start from — and prepare for — a long-term confrontation,” he said. According to Billström, the best opportunity to limit Russia’s options is strong and sustained support for Ukraine. /ritzau/