US actions ‘damaging trust,’ contradicting Europe’s values: Sweden

ISTANBUL

Sweden's foreign minister said Wednesday that recent actions by the US are undermining trust and contradicting Europe’s commitment to global cooperation and international law, in remarks highlighting growing transatlantic tensions.

“It is obvious that the US is increasingly acting in a way that is damaging to trust and that contradicts Europe’s values of global cooperation and international law,” Maria Malmer Stenergard said while presenting Sweden’s annual foreign policy declaration in parliament, according to SVT.

Despite the criticism, she stressed that Washington remains essential for Swedish and European security and prosperity.

Stenergard reaffirmed Sweden’s stance on territorial sovereignty, saying the country would "never compromise on the territorial integrity of its neighbors" and emphasizing that only Denmark and Greenland should decide issues concerning their territories.

She also said that she does not believe that nuclear weapons should be placed on Swedish soil before wartime.

Her comments come amid wider debate in Sweden over defense and security policy as the country prepares for parliamentary elections scheduled for September 2026.

Separately, she expressed confidence that the US would support Sweden in the event of a military attack under NATO’s Article Five. “There is no doubt about it,” she said.

She also rejected calls to deploy nuclear weapons on Swedish soil during peacetime, noting that Sweden has a long-standing tradition of opposing such measures, a position shared by other Nordic countries.

The remarks followed statements by the Sweden Democrats’ foreign policy spokesperson Aron Emilsson, who said Sweden should not rule out hosting nuclear weapons in the “gray area” between peace and full-scale war and called for a stronger Nordic and European military presence around Greenland.

ISTANBUL

Despite the criticism, she stressed that Washington remains essential for Swedish and European security and prosperity.

She also said that she does not believe that nuclear weapons should be placed on Swedish soil before wartime.

Her comments come amid wider debate in Sweden over defense and security policy as the country prepares for parliamentary elections scheduled for September 2026.

Separately, she expressed confidence that the US would support Sweden in the event of a military attack under NATO’s Article Five. “There is no doubt about it,” she said.