00:00I'm joined now on set by Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer-Steunergaard.
00:04Great to have you back with us here on Europe Today. Good morning.
00:07Thank you. Good morning.
00:08So you're hearing these reports this morning of Gerhard Schröder potentially mediating between Ukraine and Russia. Would you trust him?
00:15Well, I want to begin in another end. I think the main problem is that Russia is not really interested
00:21in peace.
00:23They are trying different manoeuvres, but we need to keep our focus where it needs to be,
00:29and that is on increasing the pressure on Russia and increasing the support for Ukraine.
00:34So there's a lot more to be done, and these are things that will be discussed today.
00:38But yet, Antonio Costa has been saying recently that it is perhaps time to talk to Russia.
00:43We're hearing names floated like Emmanuel Macron or Georgia Maloney or Pedro Sanchez.
00:48Which person would you like to see?
00:50I'm not there yet. I think that sooner or later we will have to talk to Moscow.
00:56But since Putin is not really interested in any serious peace talks, then I think we should, like I said,
01:04focus on changing the calculus to make him interested in that.
01:08And then we will have a discussion about how the forms...
01:12So how do you change the calculus? That's the question.
01:14Yes. So we need to increase the pressure on Russia.
01:18There is a lot more to be done on sanctions.
01:20I need to see the full-service maritime ban, and that is something that should be in a 21st sanctions
01:27package.
01:28And then we need to increase the support for Ukraine.
01:31I'm very pleased that we agreed upon the 90 billion euro loan,
01:35but this cannot be an excuse to do less bilaterally.
01:40So we need to continue to support Ukraine bilaterally and then add those 90 billions.
01:46Then that will make Ukraine a lot stronger.
01:49And we see how Russia is getting weaker and weaker, having problems recruiting new soldiers.
01:56And look at the big victory day.
01:59That was a very small victory day with no display of military hardware
02:05because the Kremlin was afraid of Ukrainian drones.
02:09And just bring us inside the council meeting today.
02:11How has the mood changed with the new government in Hungary and a new Hungarian foreign minister, Anita Orbán?
02:17She won't be there today physically because she's having her hearing.
02:19But of course, will things change now when it comes to Ukraine?
02:24Well, I think there are a lot more smiles in the room nowadays
02:28and better possibilities for Europe to be stronger and to act more swiftly,
02:35which is absolutely necessary, not only to help Ukraine,
02:38but also to make sure that the EU becomes a stronger geopolitical player, geopolitical player.
02:47And yes, I'm very hopeful that with the new Hungarian government,
02:52we will be able to make those decisions that are absolutely needed for Ukraine.
02:57But we'll see what happens in Bulgaria.
02:59And on your plates, of course, today, the diplomatic deadlock between the US and Iran.
03:04It feels sometimes like the EU is just staring at the Strait of Hormuz with absolutely no say in the
03:10matter
03:10and just hoping the problem will go away.
03:13Well, we are preparing for the next phase.
03:18So once we have a lasting ceasefire or a peace,
03:21then that is the time when Europe should bring assets and make sure that we keep the Strait open
03:28because that is so important for international trade and also for our growth.
03:32But we are not going to enter this war during these circumstances.
03:38But we are preparing and that is very important because we want to contribute.
03:42You want to contribute.
03:43And of course, you're opening a spy agency, I believe, in Sweden as a reaction to the full-scale war
03:48in Ukraine.
03:48Tell us about that.
03:49And do you have the voters on board, given this year you have big elections as well in Sweden?
03:53We have big elections.
03:54There is going to be a vote this summer on the new agency.
03:58I am convinced that this is something that should have been done a long time ago.
04:03We are now members of NATO.
04:04We align ourselves much more with the services of other countries.
04:09We need to develop technology a lot more, become better at looking into open source intelligence.
04:15And all of that is on the plate of the new agency.
04:20And on those elections taking place, Israel-Sweden relations will also play a big role.
04:25We know that Sweden did recognize the state of Palestine, but this decision could be reversed.
04:29Which camp are you in here?
04:30No, I think that we should not reverse that.
04:33I mean, we made our decision and people should be able to trust our decisions when it comes to foreign
04:38policy.
04:38So I don't see that there will be a change in that regard.
04:42However, I see the necessity to put more pressure on Israel because we are so worried about the development in
04:48Gaza.
04:49Not a lot of focus there right now because there is so much going on in the rest of the
04:53world.
04:54But the situation is still horrible for people living there and the situation on the West Bank is deteriorating.
05:01So we need to put more pressure on it.
05:03And today you could sign off on sanctions on violent settlers in Israel.
05:06I hope we will be able to do that.
05:08But we should also move forward with sanctions on extremist ministers in the Israeli government.
05:15Okay, Minister.
05:15A lot, of course, on your plates today at that foreign minister's meeting, as always.
05:19Thank you so much for coming in to us.
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