Sahlin seeks clarification on Sweden's NATO ties
Published: 16 Mar 10 11:24 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/25554/20100316/
Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin has demanded clarification from the government over Sweden's relationship to the NATO military alliance.
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Sahlin, together with the party's foreign affairs spokesperson Urban Ahlin, argued that she had repeatedly sought clarification on several important issues regarding neutral Sweden's relationship with the military alliance.
"Should we really commit ourselves to NATO's defence obligations regarding other countries in the Baltic region? Do we really want to see Swedish JAS Gripen fighter aircraft in NATO airspace defending NATO territory?" said Mona Sahlin to news agency TT.
"The government has not been open nor given any clear confirmation. I can see a slide towards a NATO membership which I do not want to happen," she said.
The open letter was handed out to journalists in connection with a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs on Monday. The purpose of the committee is to provide a forum for the government and the opposition to discuss important foreign affairs and security policy issues.
"If Mona Sahlin had any serious questions about this, then she should have addressed them to the committee, where the prime minister, defence minister and foreign minister were in attendance," Carl Bildt told TT.
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It was the Social Democrats of which Sahlin is leader, who established heavy co-operation with NATO several decades ago.
Sahlin stop rewriting the past.
whatever happen to a scandinavian union?
hehe
become fan and let all the expats-living here knows how good this man is.
If the social democrat leader has a second thought I see wisdom in her leadership. NATO's aggressive stance against Russia is aimed at creating cold war situation in Europe, and making Europe insecure so that Europe would seek protection in return of which it would allow a total foreign policy domination by the US, the way it is since WWII.
UK, Turkey, Norway and East European countries are in America's pocket. The rest of Europe is hesitant and sometimes afraid to be neutral. President Bush's words "you are with us against the us" spread terror all over the world. Since his debacle in Iraq they have become hollow words. Countries have began to come to their sense. War is not the answer to the world's problems, e.g., global warming, shortage of fresh water, new infectious diseases, refugees and disappearance of species at an alarming rate and the pollution of the sea need the cooperation of all countries poor or rich.
There is an easy way to sort that out.
Get Ukraine into the EU and start talks with Russia about joining the EU.
Russia has already signed up to the European Court of Justice and is talking to several other European institutions about closer ties.
Russia inside the EU with its vast resources and inside the Euro, would create a real superpower to contend with.
China ia already facing the USA as an equal as was evidenced at the Copenhagen Climate conference.
The USA is being eclipsed by China, so we need to form a stronger block, which hopefully Canada and Russia will consider joining at some point:)