The Greens, the ruling coalition’s junior allies, believe that all nuclear weapons should be prohibited on Swedish soil, including port calls and allied passage through Swedish waters and airspace.
The Swedish Green Party, which is allied with the governing Social Democrats, has asked that Parliament pass a new law prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons in Sweden, both in peacetime and during wartime.
“We must continue to work for nuclear disarmament”, Greens spokeswoman Märta Stenevi told national network SVT, revealing intentions to introduce a special motion in Parliament with a list of demands ahead of Sweden’s NATO accession negotiations.
The Greens believe that the ban should cover all types of nuclear weapons on Swedish soil, including port calls and allied passage through Swedish waters and airspace.
Sweden, like Norway and Denmark, has already stated that it does not want nuclear weapons or permanent NATO bases on Swedish soil, according to Social Democrat Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
But, according to Stenevi, that isn’t enough. She noted oral agreements as an exception in Denmark and Norway’s cases, and demanded national law if NATO needs member states to accept nuclear weapons in the future.
Similarly, the Greens oppose Sweden’s participation in NATO’s nuclear weapons special committee.
“We think that Sweden should continue to work for disarmament and the abolition of nuclear arms. Participating in a group that will direct nuclear weapons towards specific targets will be tantamount to legitimising them,” Stenevi speculated.
Finally, Stenevi expressed her desire for Sweden to adhere to the alliance’s “no first use” principle, which states that nuclear weapons may only be deployed in the event of a prior nuclear strike.
Since Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine began on February 24, Finland and Sweden have been discussing joining NATO. On Sunday, both countries announced their official decisions to end their historic non-alignment, with only the Left and Greens protesting.
Sweden and Finland will jointly seek for NATO membership on Wednesday, according to Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. On May 19, US President Joe Biden will meet with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö and Sweden’s prime minister at the White House to discuss the two countries’ NATO applications.
On Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the alliance will welcome Finland and Sweden with open arms and that their membership applications will be expedited. However, NATO membership requires unanimous consent from all countries, and Turkey has already expressed resistance to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
Image Credit: Getty
You were reading: Swedish party wants a law to ban nuclear weapons before NATO talks
