Expert was allowed to argue for peace – in SVT

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Published 23 January 2023 at 07.09

Domestic. SVT tried an unusual approach in “Agenda” on Sunday, when they included guests in the program who did not have exactly the same opinions. After Swedish politicians boasted about arms deliveries and killings in Ukraine, a German general appeared – who argued for peace.

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Heavy, offensive weapons are on their way to Ukraine from Sweden, and Defense Minister Pål Jonson (M) first, in the usual way, talked about how good and important it is that Sweden helps the countries to kill each other's soldiers.

But then something unusual happened.

A former German general and political adviser, Erich Vad, said that Europe is too focused on sending weapons to Ukraine instead of trying to find a diplomatic solution with Russia to end the war.

He believes that it is right to help Ukraine in the fight for independence and freedom, but that the military situation is at a stalemate.

The general said that Europe must work to bring Russia into the European peace order to avoid pushing Russia in the arms of China.

The issue of arms deliveries also shows that Europe lacks a common strategy for its support to Ukraine, according to him.

Similar views are not uncommon in Europe, and Hungary, France and Germany want the EU to pursue a peace settlement with Russia.

On the other side are Sweden and the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as Poland, which have been pushing for a harder line against Russia with the goal of defeating Putin and taking over the country. How will it be done, given that Russia has strategic nuclear weapons.

– Russia will not disappear from the world map, says Erich Vad in the program.

At the same time, Defense Minister Jonson had no clear answer to how Sweden benefits in terms of security from giving away important parts of its defense to Ukraine. However, he had a hard time hiding how cool and awesome he thought it was to be involved in things like this.

The Christian Democrats' EU parliamentarian Sara Skyttedahl, who herself has no military background, was on the same track when she excitedly tweeted that Sweden is sending 90 combat vehicles to kill Russians in Ukraine. Something that led to mockery on social media.

“Otherwise we can send posers like Skyttedal and they might die of cringe”, commented the user Plainview, for example.