Peter Holtqvist on Russian demands: unacceptable

Claim posted On Friday by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

– The goal is to create a sphere of Russian interest in which the Russian side will be able to exercise its influence over the countries in our immediate area. We too will be affected, and therefore it is totally unacceptable to us, says Defense Minister Peter Holtqvist DN.

At the top of the list of demands, the defense alliance should “refrain from any enlargement of NATO”. According to DN, this means that both Sweden and Finland, which are not currently part of the alliance, will be excluded.

We won’t be joining NATO now or later – but it’s a completely Swedish position that no one else should have an opinion on. We should be free to make our own decisions based on what we think is best for the Swedish people. It’s about our fundamental sovereignty and freedom of action to make our decisions, says Peter Hultqvist.

He believes that Russia’s intention to dictate the choices of other countries is contrary to international law and agreements.

Small states should have the right to make their own decisions about their future. Peter Hultqvist tells the paper that any attempt to build areas of interest where some countries are seen as having some kind of sovereignty over others is unacceptable.