Russia Poses No Threat To Sweden Security - Swedish Counterintelligence Head

Russia does not represent any threat to Swedish security, Daniel Stenling, the head of Counterintelligence unit at the Swedish Security Service (SAPO), said on Thursday, right after SAPO named Moscow among security threats that may interfere into the kingdom's activities

STOCKHOLM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2019) Russia does not represent any threat to Swedish security, Daniel Stenling, the head of Counterintelligence unit at the Swedish Security Service (SAPO), said on Thursday, right after SAPO named Moscow among security threats that may interfere into the kingdom's activities.

"We are monitoring Russian activity. At present, our data do not give any reason to believe that Russia poses a military threat. We will not rule out this in the future, but now it is not," Stenling said at a press conference.

Earlier on Thursday, the Security Service released its 2018 Yearbook where it details the threats Stockholm is now facing and how foreign powers seek to influence Sweden in "grey area activities." The Scandinavian country insists that Russia is one of its menaces, claiming that Moscow "has improved its ability to actively and covertly influence other states."

The news comes on the heels of the Swedish Foreign Ministry's statement, confirming that it had summoned the Russian ambassador because of "a diplomat's activity.

" The official in question was reportedly linked to a Swedish national who was allegedly collecting intelligence for Moscow.

In October 2018, the governmental Defence Research Agency released a report dubbed "Training for War. Russia's Strategic-level Military Exercises 2009-2017," in which the authors speculate on how Russia may be preparing for a full-scale war abroad, for example with NATO.

Moscow has repeatedly brushed away similar claims, saying that Russian forces are not planning any attack. In February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that NATO continues its "unprecedented military build-up" near Russia's borders, boosting infrastructure and increasing the number of troops.

In 2014, Sweden's military might was deployed to catch 'a mysterious Russian sub' allegedly sailing in its waters. After months of fruitless searches and hefty amounts of money spent on the hunt, Swedish military had to admit that the sonar signature which they initially blamed on Russians actually came from its own vessel.