PM remarks at press conference in Sweden: 11 May 2022
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's opening remarks at a press conference in Sweden.
Thank you, Prime Minister Andersson, and thank you for having me to your absolutely beautiful Harpsund retreat. It’s breath-taking. It’s great to be back in Sweden, and to see you once again.
This week many of us have been paying tribute to the brave men and women who secured victory and peace in Europe 77 years ago.
And so it’s a sad irony that we have been forced to discuss how best to fortify our shared defences against the empty conceit of a 21st century tyrant.
When Europe celebrated VE Day in 1945 – a victory that was of course in no small part ensured by the heroism of the Russian people – we hoped that peace on our continent endure.
Well Putin’s bloodthirsty campaign against a sovereign nation has put an end to that hope.
And we face a new reality.
But one that we face together.
Throughout this conflict, our Nordic partners have been leading international support, not just for Ukraine but also for European security.
From sending defensive weapons and equipment, to bringing together international partners and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us in the UN, the Human Rights Council and International Criminal Court.
The war in Ukraine is forcing us all to make difficult decisions.
But sovereign nations must be free to make those decisions without fear or influence or threat of retaliation.
So I am very pleased today, with you Prime Minister Andersson, to sign this mutual security assurances declaration.
It’s an agreement that brings our two countries even closer together.
It will allow us to share more intelligence, bolster our military exercises and further our joint development of technology.
The many carcasses of Russian tanks that now litter the fields and streets of Ukraine thanks to Swedish-developed, British-built NLAWs certainly speak to how effective that co-operation can be. But most importantly, this is an agreement that enshrines the values that both Sweden and the UK hold dear, and which we will not hesitate to defend and, as you put it so well Magdalena, when we were out on the lake – we are now literally and metaphorically in the same boat.