Contents tagged with Sweden
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Swedish Ministry of Defense: Russia’s actions in the Baltic are aggressive and provocative
At a conference in Estonia, the Swedish Minister of Defense, Peter Hultqvist, said that Russia's actions in the Baltic are aggressive and provocative.
“Recently we witnessed the unprofessional and dangerous behavior of Russian war planes over the Baltic Sea. They flew in a direct proximity over USS Donald Cook vessel,” he said.
“There have also been other such incidents, and from our side we understand how it feels to be a victim of such provocative behavior” he added.
“Irrespective of the …
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Swedish PM: We are not interested in Moscow's opinion regarding Sweden joining NATO
The Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, in response to comments made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on the possibility of Stockholm joining NATO, stated that Stockholm does not need Moscow’s opinion to make decisions.
Löfven noted that the words of the Russian Minister were "absolutely useless," emphasizing that no one seemed interested in Moscow’s opinion regarding this issue.
"In Sweden we make our own decisions regarding defense and security policy. In this regard we …
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Lavrov: Russia will take 'measures' if Sweden joins NATO
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow will respect any decision on the issue of Sweden’s ascension to NATO, but will "take the necessary military-technical measures" if the Nordic country does join the Alliance. Lavrov stated this in an interview with the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter on April 28th.
“It’s every country’s right to decide what form its security should take, but you must understand that if military infrastructure approaches Russia's borders, we would of …
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Sweden suspects Russian hackers of attacking news websites
The websites of several Swedish newspapers were attacked on Saturday evening, and their systems were completely brought down, Radio Svoboda reported.
Two minutes before the attack, an anonymous message appeared on Twitter, stating that the attack was aimed at the Swedish Government, as well as the media that “disseminates misleading propaganda”. Immediately after the message was posted, the websites of the Aftonbladet, Expressen, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Dagens Industri, Sydsvenskan …
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Swedish Security Service: Russian propaganda is a threat
According to Swedish Security Service (SAPO), Russia uses psychological warfare in order to influence decision-making in the country. On March 17th, the SAPO presented a report in Stockholm stating that Russia supports extremist movements in Sweden and consciously spreads false information throughout the country.
“It can be, for example, propaganda from Russian media companies that are seeking to influence our perception of reality,” a counterintelligence analyst, Wilhelm Unge, stated. …
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Swedish Security Service: One third of Russian diplomats in Sweden are spies
The Dagens Nyheter newspaper stated that according to the annual report of the Sakerhetspolisen, the Swedish Security Services or SAPO, one third of Russian diplomats in Sweden are spies. Russia has a number of espionage agents, some of whom are registered in the Swedish Foreign Ministry as diplomats.
"As a rule, they are working for the military intelligence service GRU or its civilian equivalent, the Foreign Intelligence Service," the report said. At present time Russia has 37 accredited …
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Swedish Defense Minister: Russia’s actions are the most serious challenge to security in Europe
Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist stated that Russia’s actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine are the most serious challenge to security in Europe.
“The illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia’s illegal interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine are the most serious challenges in the field of European security”, Hultqvist said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
The Swedish Defense Minister added that Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine is a threat to other neighboring …
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Swedish Defense Committee: Russia Is a Potential Enemy
Allan Widman, the Chairman of Sweden’s Parliamentary Defense Committee, suggested that Russia may become a potential enemy that Sweden needs to watch out for. The events in Ukraine, the weak economy and the sharp plunge in oil prices may spawn unwanted conflict at Sweden’s doorstep.
"My assessment is the following: Sweden has been at peace for over 200 years but now the situation is serious enough that we have to be ready for a spillover of violent conflicts from our neighboring countries,” …