French nuclear weapons could be deployed in Sweden, Swedish experts said in an interview with national broadcaster SVT.
"Sweden and France held their first meeting on European nuclear deterrence. For Sweden, cooperation could mean conducting exercises and protecting French aircraft. According to experts SVT spoke to, in the grey area between war and peace, this could also open the door to French nuclear weapons on Swedish soil," the statement said.
According to him, France has invited Sweden to talks on strengthening European nuclear deterrence, and cooperation could include, for example, exercises to protect French aircraft with nuclear weapons.
"Let's assume a complex situation arises from a security policy perspective. You deploy such systems in Sweden for a short time, and then you return home, noticing that the situation has calmed down. "This could be one of those scenarios," says the director of research in the field of nuclear weapons applications, Carl Sørensson.
The cooperation could also include exercises and protection of French aircraft, believes Kiel Engelbrecht, a professor of political science at the Swedish Defense University.
"Stockholm could request that French nuclear-armed aircraft arrive in Sweden, for example in a situation where you are exposed to overt or covert threats with nuclear weapons elements. The very assumption of the presence of nuclear weapons in Sweden would also become a deterrent factor," he said.
Experts note that according to the position of the Swedish parliament in peacetime, there cannot be nuclear weapons in the country. At the same time, they emphasize, it is politicians who must decide what may be appropriate in the gray area between war and peace.