- Joined
- Sep 20, 2016
U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis is leaning heavily on the Swedish government to not sign o to a new anti-nuclear weapons treaty, to the point of threatening Sweden’s military alliance with the United States, according to local news reports.
The national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheterin reported this week that Swedish officials are upset by the letter, sent to Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, which indicated defense industrial cooperation between the two nations could be endangered if Sweden signs onto the treaty, as is expected.
The report, translated into English for Defense News by Dagens Nyheterin security policy correspondent Mikael Holmström, said Mattis warned Hultqvist that signing the treaty could directly impact Sweden’s relationship with NATO.
The Swedish paper also cited a source raising fears that signing the nuclear agreement could impact defense industrial cooperation between Sweden and the U.S., including programs being worked on by Saab. Although not mentioned specifically, Saab is teamed with Boeing on a design for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation trainer aircraft.
Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael declined to comment on the letter itself, but said the U.S. “does have serious concerns with the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, and strongly discourages states from signing or ratifying” as it contains provisions that “could potentially affect our ability to cooperate with parties to the treaty on issues of mutual interest. It also undermines the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime.”
However, the U.S. “values its defense relationship with Sweden,” Michael added.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2017/09/01/mattis-reportedly-threatens-swedish-defense-cooperation-over-nuclear-treaty/
The national Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheterin reported this week that Swedish officials are upset by the letter, sent to Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, which indicated defense industrial cooperation between the two nations could be endangered if Sweden signs onto the treaty, as is expected.
The report, translated into English for Defense News by Dagens Nyheterin security policy correspondent Mikael Holmström, said Mattis warned Hultqvist that signing the treaty could directly impact Sweden’s relationship with NATO.
The Swedish paper also cited a source raising fears that signing the nuclear agreement could impact defense industrial cooperation between Sweden and the U.S., including programs being worked on by Saab. Although not mentioned specifically, Saab is teamed with Boeing on a design for the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation trainer aircraft.
Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael declined to comment on the letter itself, but said the U.S. “does have serious concerns with the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, and strongly discourages states from signing or ratifying” as it contains provisions that “could potentially affect our ability to cooperate with parties to the treaty on issues of mutual interest. It also undermines the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime.”
However, the U.S. “values its defense relationship with Sweden,” Michael added.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2017/09/01/mattis-reportedly-threatens-swedish-defense-cooperation-over-nuclear-treaty/