Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleSweden's PM Kristersson sees no risk in buying US weapons but suggests Europe should reduce dependency on US arms. EU leaders discuss military capabilities.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Thursday that he did not consider buying U.S. weapons a security risk, though he added that it might be good for Europe to become somewhat less dependent on Washington for arms and other defence equipment.
Fellow NATO member Canada has said it relies too much on the United States for security, ordering a review of its contract to buy fighter jets from Lockheed Martin amid a trade war with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Arriving at a European Union summit in Brussels amid differences over how to boost Ukrainian and EU military capabilities, Kristersson was asked by reporters whether buying U.S.-produced arms could pose a risk to security.
"No, I would not say that at all. We have good experiences from cooperation with the U.S. defence industry," he said.
Kristersson also told reporters he believes the European defence industry needs to become stronger.
"Both the Swedish defence industry and many European countries would do well from being a little less dependent on the U.S. defence industry," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas in Brussels called on leaders to match words of support for Kyiv with deeds, as Trump pushes ahead with his efforts to end the war, including through a rapprochement with Russia.
Washington this month briefly cut off intelligence sharing and weapons shipments to Ukraine, raising questions about the potential perils of becoming too dependent on U.S. systems.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Terje Solsvik, Kirsten Donovan)
The main topic is Sweden's stance on buying US weapons and the implications for European defense dependency.
Canada is reviewing its contract due to concerns over reliance on the US amid trade tensions.
EU leaders discussed boosting military capabilities and supporting Ukraine with concrete actions.
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