Sweden’s defence minister resigned yesterday after weeks of pressure over reports that the Nordic state planned to help Saudi Arabia build a weapons plant.
Arms sales to Saudi Arabia have provoked criticism in a country which prides itself on standing up for human rights, and the reports about aid for the weapons plant sparked an outcry.
Defence minister Sten Tolgfors survived initial reports in early March by public radio about plans for a state-run defence research agency, FOI, to help Saudi Arabia build the plant by saying he had not known of them and that FOI had overstepped its authority. But reports of the details of the affair have continued to surface, steadily increasing pressure on him. – (Reuters)