The U.S. Government has welcomed the announcement by Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson of the negotiation of a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) between the two countries.
This was detailed by the State Department in a statement in which it emphasized that the agreement will allow Sweden and the United States to deepen their «close security partnership» and enhance bilateral cooperation in security operations, strengthening transatlantic stability.
«Sweden is a valued defense partner of the United States and NATO. The United States is fully committed to Sweden joining the NATO Alliance and we look forward to its accession as soon as possible,» the U.S. diplomacy stressed in the letter.
In this sense, the United States has assured that the opening of these negotiations with Sweden reflects Washington’s commitment to strengthen and revitalize its alliances in order to face common security challenges.
Previously, the Swedish Defense Minister said that the country would strengthen defense cooperation with the U.S. government.
«We have recently started negotiations on this with the United States. We are moving from being close partners to allies,» he said, as reported by ‘Dagens Nyheter’ newspaper.
Specifically, the pact will be called the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and will allow regulating the legal status of U.S. soldiers in Sweden, as well as other measures, such as investment in infrastructure or stockpiling of defense equipment.
The United States has similar DCA agreements with several countries. Finland also announced in September its intention to initiate the process. Both Nordic countries have applied for NATO membership, a process that has been held up by Turkey.
Ankara refuses to admit these two countries into the Atlantic Alliance until they hand over all individuals accused of membership in Kurdish organizations declared by the Turkish government to be terrorist groups, such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
