Published 8 February 2024 at 10.43
Domestic. The government wants to involve Sweden in two military actions in the Red Sea linked to Israel's war in Gaza, says Foreign Minister Tobias Billström to SVT Nyheter.
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The two initiatives in question are, on the one hand, Operation Prosperity Guardian, which was initiated by the USA, and on the other hand, the EU initiative Aspides, which has not yet started.
– The Swedish government's direction is that we should do this, says Tobias Billström.
According to the foreign minister, the main goal of these operations is to protect civilian shipping against attacks by the Houthi rebels – who are trying to disrupt Israel's genocide-accused war on the Gaza Strip.
At the same time, Billström emphasizes that the government will not to go ahead with the plans if there is no extensive support from the Riksdag.
– If we send men and women in uniform on military missions, it is a good tradition that it is widely anchored in the Riksdag. We want to hear what the Riksdag thinks and thinks, he tells SVT.
The Social Democrats' foreign policy spokesperson Morgan Johansson, however, announced as recently as mid-January that his party does not support Swedish participation in the efforts in the Red Sea .