Sweden’s PM says sending peacekeepers to post-war Ukraine ‘a possibility’
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Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (left) meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb 15.
PHOTO: AFP
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STOCKHOLM - Sweden would consider contributing to post-war peacekeeping forces in Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Feb 17, adding that negotiations would need to progress before any such decision was taken.
The minister’s comments came after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was ready to send British troops to Ukraine
Asked by Reuters whether Sweden would be willing to contribute to these forces, Mr Kristersson said: “We will take part in those discussions and of course that is absolutely a possibility,” he said on the sidelines of a military exercise in Sweden’s capital.
“There needs to be a very clear mandate for those forces, and I don’t think we can see that until we have come further in those negotiations. But Sweden, we are normally a part of strengthening security in our part of the world, so I foresee us to be a part of that this time as well.”
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told public service broadcaster Swedish Radio on Feb 17 that a just and sustainable peace which respected international law would need to be organised first.
“Once we have such a peace established, we need to ensure it can be maintained and then our government doesn’t exclude anything,” she said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Saudi Arabia on Feb 17 ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine. REUTERS
