The US and Sweden have signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) that will grant the US military access to bases across the Nordic country as Stockholm has abandoned its centuries-old policy of neutrality.
The Pentagon said the deal will allow “US forces to operate in Sweden, including the legal status of US military personnel, access to deployment areas (and) prepositioning of military materiel.”
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson inked the pact with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Tuesday and said it “will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the United States in the event of a war or crisis.”
The deal comes as Sweden is still waiting for Turkey and Hungary to approve its NATO bid. The US State Department said the DCA with Sweden will “apply seamlessly before and after Sweden’s accession to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).”
Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO together last year, but Turkey delayed the process over allegations that the Nordic countries supported the PKK, a Kurdish militant group Ankara, the EU, and the US consider a terrorist organization. Turkey’s main gripes were with Sweden, and the Turkish parliament approved Helsinki’s bid earlier this year while delaying Stockholm’s membership.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he expects the US to move forward on a major F-16 sale before his parliament ratifies Sweden’s membership. The deal has support from the Biden administration, but there’s been some opposition in Congress.
“As the president, I’ve done my part, but I have an expectation as well. The US should pass this [F-16 sales to Turkey] from its Congress, so that we can take these steps simultaneously,” Erdogan said.
Hungary has cited Swedish criticism of the Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban for its delay in approving Stockholm’s NATO bid but is expected to ratify it once Turkey does.
So many more targets for Russia. All lined up by the one nation that has not been bombed. Yet.
Yeah and they’ll take it in 3 days like they did in Ukraine. 🤣
Get off your cloud, Funny guy.
The Swedish are getting smarter by the day. Living at the border of the arctic, they are getting so afraid of the clim8 cri$i$, so they decided to end it all with a nuclear war.
Nuclear war? Oh shoot. I didn’t it know it started already.
Im going to google it now.
Russian missiles might not even be able to leave their launchers. None of their other garbage equipment works worth a s**t! Hahaha.
I’d hate to see what things would look like in Ukraine if Russia’s shit actually worked.
🤣👍
They’ll probably boomerang back in their own territory 🤷🏽♂️
Neutrality has given Sweden peace with Russia since 1809
I used to think they were smarter than us (Canada)
Now they are sitting beside us and Finland in the NATO peanut gallery
They were smart, they are joining NATO, now Russia cannot play invasion games with them.
Why would Russia invade Finland ?
There would seem to be little cost benefit ?
By joining NATO Finland has gained more expensive headaches and little else
Finland and Sweden will now be treated as “bad neighbors” by Russia.
This will incur no danger to themselves but will be expensive.
The Russians did not blow up Nordstream but now Finland, Sweden and the Balts
will pay more to maintain cables, pipelines etc in the Baltic.
That is a given. Sweden and Finland may see an icrease of refugees at their borders as well.
Merry Christmas losers !
Yeah, why would Russia invade Ukraine was a big question you Putin lovers here used to ask.
Are those the same refugees that were denied entry and sent back to Moscow to join the war?
Happy Holidays, losers.
Heads up !!
They are terrible guests who get into all kinds of mischief
and worst of all … they never go home
Ask the governor of Okinawa
Drunken American troops molesting Swedish women just like in Okinawa.
Ummm…
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/nov/14/drug-use-among-russian-soldiers-ukraine-increasing/
Not relevant to what he said.
The cancer begins.
NATO continues to EXPAND…. It NEVER contracts?….
Just like Russia. Go figure.
But you are incapable of figuring that out because you are not antiwar, YOU are antiWEST.
What happened to Sweden’s neutrality?…
They don’t appreciate your boy, Putin’s desire to invade countries that want to be free.
Im sure you could’ve figured that out.