Sweden 'will contribute' to Trump's Ukraine weapons plan
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Trump announced a tougher line on Russia over its war in Ukraine on Monday as he gave the Kremlin 50 days to end the fighting or face massive new economic sanctions.
With Nato chief Mark Rutte, Trump also unveiled a deal under which European members of the alliance would buy billions of dollars of arms from the United States ‒ including Patriot anti-missile batteries ‒ and send them to Ukraine.
Economic powerhouse Germany has already said it is going to play a leading role in the scheme and has offered to buy two Patriot systems.
Sweden's Defence Minister Pål Jonson said his country "would contribute".
"We welcome the US announcement that it will enable increased sanctions against Russia and open up for deliveries of Patriot systems and other weapon systems to Ukraine," Jonson told AFP in a written statement.
He noted that Ukraine was "in great need of more air defence," given Russia's "constant bombings and attacks."
Denmark's foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that his country was "absolutely ready" to join the scheme and would contribute with cash.
"We have to work out the details," he said.
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His Dutch counterpart Caspar Veldkamp said the Netherlands was looking into the scheme "with a positive inclination".
"We will look into what we can do in relation to Mr Trump's announcements and take it from there," he said.
One of the major questions hanging over the US plan is how fast it can get desperately needed weaponry to Ukraine as it faces nightly Russian bombardments.
Rutte said the scheme could allow European countries to send weaponry to Ukraine from their stocks that would be then replaced by new US arms.
But few countries possess systems like Patriots and those that do have frequently argued that they cannot spare more.
He said that beyond Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, Nato members Canada, Norway, and Britain were also among the potential buyers.
"Norway is in close dialogue with Ukraine on how we can best assist the country with military support," Norwegian defence minister Tore O. Sandvik said in a written statement to AFP, also noting that air defence was a "high priority".
Meanwhile, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told public broadcaster YLE that his government would "evaluate each decision case by case as we receive more detailed information."
Trump's apparent pivot away from an attempted rapprochement with Russia's President Vladimir Putin has been welcomed by the US' European allies.
"After yesterday's announcements, it's clear that leadership is once again coming from the US," said Lithuanian foreign minister Kęstutis Budrys.
European countries admit that helping Ukraine keep up its fight against Russia's invasion would be very difficult without access to US weaponry.
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