Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt on Wednesday repeated support for enlargement of the European Union and said the government was seeking a unified "European" stance on Kosovo, according to dpa. The 27-nation EU remained a key component in Swedish foreign policy, Bildt said during the presentation of the government's foreign policy statement that also touched on free trade, disarmament, climate change and global poverty reduction. After the speech, Bildt told reporters that he was "cautiously optimistic" over efforts to tackle climate change citing factors like the outcome of the recent summit at Bali, Indonesia and a change in US public opinion. In comparison, he was "concerned" over the lack of efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation and said there was need to create an international nuclear fuel cycle as more countries eyed nuclear power as potential energy source. In his parliament statement, Bildt also repeated his concern over certain developments in Russia with a "move in a more authoritarian direction" in recent years. Sweden would also seek closer ties with Ukraine, Bildt said, adding that an embassy would be opened in Belarus this year. On the Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo that was expected to soon declare unilateral independence, Bildt said that "the present situation is untenable" and that the EU must "assume a special responsibility for the status issue and for state-building." Stockholm would "soon" state its position on "Sweden's future relations with Kosovo" pending EU discussions, Bildt said, adding that the EU should also "keep the door open for Serbia." The EU "enlargement process" was one of the bloc's "most crucial strategic obligations," Bildt said repeating that Sweden supported Turkey and Croatia as members when they fulfil requirements. Closely linked to that issue was Cyprus, Bildt told reporters saying "2008 must be the year we try to overcome the division of Cyprus." On the Middle East, Bildt said Sweden was "working for an end to the isolation of Gaza" and rejected "the Israeli settlement policy" while underlining that "rocket attacks on Israel must cease." In the following debate, Bildt ruled out talks with Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip, saying "our priority is to talk with those who want to negotiate peace." Bildt described peacekeeping efforts in Chad, where Sweden has contributed peacekeepers, as "very challenging" and "complex," citing the links to the ongoing conflict Darfur in neighbouring Sudan. Urban Ahlin of the opposition Social Democrats presented an alternative declaration and urged the government to step up its disarmament work, including preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and backing a global ban against cluster bombs.
