The partnership between United Kingdom and Sweden - Conflict of interests

 

Issue: The UK is a prime suspect, the NATO is interest in keeping the alliance intact. 

7 March 2023 - NATO - Joint press conference

with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson

Journalist

Question to both of you. What do you believe about the possibilities to reach a deal regarding ammunition to Ukraine at the meeting tomorrow, the meeting of the defense ministers? How do you comment the information that the Nord Stream could have been attacked by a pro-Ukrainian group?

Swedish Prime Minister

I don't know whether it's completely clear. With Kaja Kallas’ initiative from Estonia, that we should help each other, that European countries should help each other, for this, and from the European Commission’s initiative. I don't know all the minutiae, whether the agreement has been reached and how they should be turned out, so let me come back to you. When it comes to this second issue, I don't have any further comments right now. In Sweden there is now an ongoing criminal investigation when it comes to Nord Stream, so I don't plan to comment on this information at this stage. 

NATO Secretary General

Well, when it comes to Nord Stream 2 pipelines, the situation is that - what we know – is that there has been an attack, that this was sabotage, and that this was an attack against critical infrastructure for Europe. But there are ongoing investigations and inquiries, and it shouldn’t be right to speculate who is behind that until the investigations and inquiries have been concluded. What we can say for certainty is that these attacks show the vulnerability of crucial infrastructure (Sunak 2017) - internet cables, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, thousands of kilometers of critical infrastructure which is important for our modern societies.

And NATO for many years has been dealing with this security of infrastructure. But after the attacks in the Baltic Sea, we have doubled our military presence and the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. We have also increased the cooperation between NATO countries to exchange information and to strengthen preparedness to better stop further such attacks in the future. We have created a separate unit to coordinate the measures at the NATO Headquarters between the Member States and also private industry, which are also important role in terms of this infrastructure to increase the security for undersea [inaudible]. 

[MRT: It is acknowledged that the legal protection in EZs if weak. Excluding Russia from protection of European critical infrastructure speaks volumes. A member has done it and now NATO is worrying about possible perhaps "just" retaliation. Lets imagine a scenario in which the mission against Nordstream is defined as and "armed attack against a state" or even "act of agression" as specified here]. 

17 May 2023 - British-Irish lawmakers push for EU-UK defence cooperation on borderless threats 

[MRT: The EU is compromised in Nordstream affair case]

19 June 2023 - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Hosts Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson

Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, hosts Ulf Kristersson, Sweden's prime minister, for a bilateral meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, UK, on Monday, June 19, 2023. The Swedish government is seeking approval to become the 32nd member of NATO by the Vilnius summit mid-July.

[MRT: Really, seeking approval?]  

19 June 2023 - UK-Sweden Joint Leaders Statement: 19 June 2023 

The UK and Sweden are close security partners, and we welcome the strong and growing defence relationship. We are united in our strong support for Ukraine and in condemning Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion. We reaffirm our commitments made in the Political Declaration of Solidarity of May 2022.We will build on this to forge ever closer defence and security ties, bilaterally, as well as through the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), and soon as NATO allies, to meet shared regional and global security challenges.

Through regular bilateral consultations, both in the Joint Staff talks and the 2+2 Defence and Security Dialogue, Sweden and the UK will identify opportunities for enhanced bilateral collaboration.

We will continue to train and exercise together to ensure our Armed Forces are able to operate together effectively across all domains. EU-UK cooperation in security and defence reinforces the bilateral UK-Swedish bond.

[MRT: IMHO the integrity of the SWE is compromised.]  

13 October 2023 - Strengthened partnership between United Kingdom and Sweden

On Friday 13 October, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a strategic partnership between the UK and Sweden. This partnership builds on the two countries’ common interests and values, and aims to deepen and broaden their cooperation.

[MRT: The UK is a prime suspect.]  

The signing of the strategic partnership comes off the back of Mr Kristersson’s visit to London on 19 June. During the visit, Mr Kristersson and Mr Sunak agreed to draft and sign a strategic bilateral partnership agreement by the end of the year. 

[MRT: The UK is a prime suspect.]   

The UK is an important trade partner and ally on international issues.

Through partnership, Sweden and the UK further strengthen their strong cooperation on security and defence, which includes collaboration on counterterrorism and defence materiel exports. This strengthens Sweden’s relations with an important security partner, which is important to overall security in Europe.  

[MRT: The statement of strengthening European security points to inability to reveal the perpetrator of Nordstream affair.]    

The strategic partnership applies to a large number of areas where Sweden and the UK see the benefits of increased cooperation, such as innovation, research, green transition and trade and investments. The two countries will also continue to cooperate on international issues such as support to Ukraine and the importance of a rules-based world order.

The strategic partnership with the UK is a political declaration of intent in line with Sweden’s obligations under EU law.

[MRT: Seems some EU law will be used to stop the SWE Nordstream investigation. And given that the DK investigation is almost non-existent public should start to question WHICH law has been applied.]

19 Oct 2023 - HMS Queen Elizabeth made her first visit to new NATO partner,

Sweden, arriving in Gothenburg on 13 October for a week of defence diplomacy as part of the UK Carrier Strike Group deployment.

[MRT: A week of defense diplomacy? Considering the UK being the prime suspect of the Nordstream affair this COULD signalize a management of the investigation for public.] 

24 Oct 2023 - Joint press conference

by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson

 Today, we also addressed recent damage to critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

Allies and Sweden are working together to establish the facts.

And NATO is strengthening our presence in the region.

This includes more surveillance and reconnaissance.

As well as more ships under NATO command.

NATO will always do this, and we will do what is necessary to protect and defend our Allies.

[MRT: Jens Stoltenberg is stating that NATO will stand behind and protect the perpetrator - the UK and protect the unity of NATO.] 

14 Nov. 2023 - Doorstep statement

by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union with Defence Ministers

Journalist: It’s the Ukrainian intelligence officer who could be involved in the Nord Stream attack, Roman Chervinsky. When did you hear first the name?

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: Well, there are ongoing investigations, national investigations, and I will not comment on them.

14 Nov. 2023 - NATO Secretary General addresses protection of critical undersea infrastructure, support to Ukraine with EU Defence Ministers

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union with EU Defence Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday (14 November 2023) to discuss the protection of critical undersea infrastructure and the importance of continued support to Ukraine.

The Secretary General stressed that the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines last year and the recent damage to the Balticconnector pipeline and cables show that infrastructure is vulnerable, and that threats are real and developing.

Since these incidents, NATO has stepped up air and naval patrols and increased presence in the Baltic and North Seas. At the Vilnius Summit in July, Allies agreed to establish a new centre on critical undersea infrastructure at NATO’s Maritime Command in the United Kingdom.

[MRT: Kind of obscure when the UK is the main suspect of Nordstream affair.] 

NATO and the European Union have also established a task force on the resilience of critical infrastructure. “Critical infrastructure is important, and it's an area where we once again see the relevance and importance of cooperation between the NATO and the European Union,” said the Secretary General.

On the situation in Ukraine, Mr Stoltenberg highlighted that intense fighting continues. “The situation on the battlefield is difficult. And that just makes it even more important that we sustain and step up our support for Ukraine because we cannot allow President Putin to win,” said the Secretary General. “Ukraine must prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe and it's in our interest to support Ukraine,” he said.

[MRT: Well, revealing the perpetrator is dangerous to NATO from the fracturing point of view. As for the EU and other creditors, the fall of Kiev would have serious consequences as creditors would need to take serious "haircuts" on their loans to bankrupt Ukraine- here.]