The Swedish Parliament voted in favor of the controversial defense agreement with the United States

According to the report of the international group Tasnim news agency quoting The Swedish Parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the controversial defense agreement with the United States, according to “D Sight”.

After five hours of debate, 266 representatives The parliament of this country voted in favor of this agreement and 37 representatives opposed it. Critics fear that this agreement could lead to the establishment of nuclear weapons in Sweden and permanent US military bases in this country.

Signed in December by the governments of Stockholm and Washington, it gives the United States access to 17 military bases and training areas in Sweden and allows for the storage of weapons, military equipment and ammunition. The purpose of this work is to ensure the rapid defense of the Nordic and Baltic countries in case of an attack. He emphasized: This agreement creates much better conditions for support through the United States of America in the event of a crisis or war. According to him, this will contribute to stability across Northern Europe.

After the signing of this agreement, the opposition Greens had already criticized the fact that this agreement would allow the deployment of weapons. It does not exclude nuclear. However, the government noted that Sweden’s position of not allowing the deployment of nuclear weapons on Swedish soil in peacetime is recognized and respected.

A similar agreement between Norway and the United States The United States signed in 2021, it contained a clause excluding nuclear weapons. Also last December, Denmark signed a defense agreement with the United States.

Sweden, a long non-aligned country, recently joined NATO. . It applied to join the military alliance along with Finland in May 2022, almost three months after Russia invaded Ukraine. While Finland joined NATO in April 2023, Sweden’s accession was delayed until March this year due to the opposition of Turkey and Hungary.

Sweden only on March 7 It became a member of NATO after a stalemate of almost two years. The Scandinavian country applied for membership in May 2022, influenced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and at the time still hoped to join next summer. However, Turkey and Hungary, the members of this military alliance, stopped the accession process for more than a year. The Commander-in-Chief of this country warned against a possible Russian attack on the Swedish island of Gotland and said: I am sure that Putin is watching Gotland even with two eyes. He told the newspapers of the German Editorial Network: Putin’s goal is to control the Baltic Sea.

According to the new defense agreement between Sweden and the United States, American forces are allowed to use 17 facilities. They are military in Sweden. These include military airfields and naval bases, as well as land force locations scattered around the country where the United States is authorized to station military personnel and equipment and conduct exercises.

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