Sweden has made a historic decision to join NATO since Russia invaded Ukraine as the security environment in Europe has deteriorated. How Sweden views the integration of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova into the EU and whether the ongoing political confrontation in Georgia hinders EU integration - Swedish Ambassador Ulrik Tideström spoke about this and other issues in an interview with InterPressNews.
Sweden has been a neutral country since 19th century. Your country did not participate in World Wars and managed to maintain neutrality during the Cold War too. But after Russia started military intervention of Ukraine, Sweden with Finland decided to refuse neutrality and join NATO. Can you tell us why did the government of Sweden decide that it is a right time to join the Alliance now?
First of all thank you for your interest. Sweden was a neutral country until we joined the European Union in 1995. After that we have remained militarily non-aligned. Now, as we all know, Russia is waging an illegal, brutal and full-scale war against Ukraine. This war has also fundamentally changed the security situation in Europe. There is a before the 24th of February, and there is an after the 24th of February.
Sweden’s stance is clear. We condemn Russia’s war in the strongest possible terms, and our response rests on three pillars: 1. Support to Ukraine, including to their legal right to defend themselves. 2. Sanctions against Russia. 3. A stronger Sweden.
We have decided recently to make historic investments in our civil and military defense, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started our Government initiated consultations with all political parties in Swedish parliament to review our security environment and to think about potential implications for Swedish security policy. A report from these deliberations between all our parties was published in the middle of May. I can share with you what this report said.
In the analytical part it was noted that there is a deterioration of the security environment in Europe as a whole. It is also noted that the Russian attack on Ukraine is of a nature and scope that Europe has not experienced since WW2, and that Russia’s actions give rise to a structural, long-term and significant deterioration of the security environment in Europe and globally.
The conclusion of this report is that Sweden needed to review how our security could be strengthened. We believe that our long-standing security policy has served Sweden well in many ways. But as said in this report, there is no guarantee that Sweden would be helped if we were the target of a serious threat or an attack. Also, the current crisis has made it clear that Nato’s Article 5 applies to the defense of allies only. It is further noted that Swedish membership of Nato would raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus strengthen the security in northern Europe. Finland’s assessments and conclusions have also been important.
Based on all this, and with broad political support, the Swedish Government decided to apply for Nato membership.
If we consider Russian invasion as threat for Sweden why is it different from Russo-Georgian war in 2008 or Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014?
The ongoing Russian attack on Ukraine is of a nature and scope that Europe has not seen since WW2, and implies a significant and long-term deterioration of the security environment in Europe and globally. It is also an explicit attack on the European security order including the right of every country to choose its future and its foreign and security policy.
This does not mean that we took Russian’s war against Georgia in 2008 lightly. Sweden remains unwavering in our support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, including by keeping the unresolved conflicts in Georgia on the international agenda. Sweden is also one of the leading participants in the EU Monitoring Mission. In 2009, Sweden together with Poland initiated the Eastern Partnership which for Georgia has resulted in the Association Agreement with the DCFTA, and the visa free regime. It has also brought massive EU support for Georgian reforms making your country stronger and bringing Georgia closer to European Union. Also bilaterally, Sweden has increased our support to Georgia. We are Georgia’s third largest bilateral donor and we have by now invested 1 billion Georgian Lari in different development programs, supporting the European integration reforms and Georgia’s resilience.
After Sweden and Finland decided to join the Alliance, NATO Secretary General and leaders of member states confirmed that they welcome these two countries in the Alliance. According to them, Sweden and Finland will become members of NATO in the nearest future. At the same time, leaders of Russian Federation consider enlargement of NATO as a direct threat for their security. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, “Moscow’s response to Helsinki’s decision to join NATO will be a "surprise" and will be taken primarily by the military”. What do you think are Finland and Sweden faced to security threats nowadays?
There is a risk of Russian threats. We have a readiness for this, and we have also received assurances from important partners. What I would add is that there would have been risks also without a Swedish NATO application.
According to Article 10 of NATO all member states should agree on accepting new members. As we have seen the position of Turkey in contradictive. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has demanded a "written agreement" from Finland and Sweden on steps to end their "support for terrorism" if they want to join the NATO. What is the official position of Swedish government about this issue, how the agreement should be reached?
When Sweden and Finland decided to apply for NATO membership we have received a lot of supporting messages from NATO allied countries and from the Secretary General, basically saying that Swedish and Finnish NATO membership would not only strengthen our security but the common security in Europe. It would strengthen NATO. We are in dialogue with Turkey. It is a constructive dialogue and I would expect it to continue.
Since Russia invaded in Ukraine, Western countries imposed strict sanctions to Russia. They are also trying to reduce their dependence on Russian natural resources and find alternative ways. Do you think that European countries will be able to manage to minimize importing Russian gas and oil and they will not let Russia to use them as a political tool?
Just this week the EU leaders have agreed in principle on the 6th package of sanctions against Russia and it includes a gradual ban on importing Russian oil to the EU countries. The estimation is that by the end of this year we will have decreased the import of Russian oil by 90%. The purpose with all the sanctions, not just the latest package, is to make Russia stop this war, not least by going after their possibilities to finance this illegal and brutal war. When it comes to the newly decided oil embargo it will also help us to accelerate the shift to renewable energy which is needed to tackle another crisis that we do not speak enough about, namely the climate crisis.
In March of 2022 Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova officially applied for the membership of the EU. Recently all three countries submitted the EU questionnaires. Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishina believes that Georgia and Moldova will have to wait for EU membership and the case of Ukraine should be discussed separately. As a member of EU, can you tell us, what are chances of these countries to become EU member in the nearest future and can the current situation in Europe affect this process?
In the very short term, we are waiting for the opinion by the European Commission and then discussions between the EU member states. I will not speculate or comment prematurely on the upcoming report from the Commission or the coming discussions between the member states. I will say 3 things of a more general nature.
First: European integration is a long-term process. If we look at the procedures, the rules and the history of EU enlargement, we know it can take a long time from application to potential candidate status. And from that, it has often taken many years to the potential start of negotiations, and then further years to potential membership. EU enlargement is never a quick fix, and there are no shortcuts.
Second: In this long-term process, there are things that Georgia, and only Georgia itself, could do to improve its chances. To build national unity. To be absolutely firm in adhering to the European values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and equality – these values are the very foundation of the EU and of Georgia’s European integration. And to continue and even accelerate the broader reform process.
Third: Sweden will continue to support Georgia in the reforms for European integration. Continued reforms are the path to Europe.
I want to ask you your opinion about the political processes in Georgia. During last years the government and opposition parties of Georgia are constantly arguing and blaming each other. Recently the imprisonment of Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the Mtavari TV was one of the most discussed topics. The ruling party considers it as a legal process, while the opposition believes it is politically motivated. Do you believe that these processes and tension in the country can affect the membership of Georgia in the EU?
Clearly, the political divisions are not good for Georgia itself. I think it can create vulnerabilities, and it can also take away energy and focus from the reform processes. I see the current situation for Georgia as two-fold. On the one hand, there are increased security risks for Europe as a whole. On the other hand, there are possibilities for Georgia to continue the European integration and take further steps in that direction. I believe that for both of these reasons, a stronger national unity would be in Georgia’s best interests. This is the moment to come together.
Regarding the judiciary, my understanding is that in Georgia there is quite broad agreement that more can be done to reform and increase the trust in the judiciary. There are good roadmaps for this in the Association Agreement and association agenda, the 19th of April 2021 agreement, and recommendations from the Venice Commission and the OSCE ODIHR. I would only encourage such continued reforms.
About the concrete legal cases, we are following them closely. We take note of assessment made, for example by the Public Defender’s Office. Our expectation on the Georgian authorities is naturally to guarantee everyone’s right to a fair trial, and to fully uphold the rights of all inmates.
Beka Beriashvili
InterPressNews
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