Comments by "peabase" (@peabase) on "DW News from February 26: Hungary approves Sweden's bid to join NATO | Full Broadcast" video.

@richardbayer5702 Interestingly, Erdogan wouldn't agree to Sweden joining NATO unless Turkey got F-16s from the US. NATO's autocrats are placated with warplanes, it seems.
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@ugvadugvaw Russia confidently stated that they don't join military alliances, but rather, found them. I guess that was at least true for the CSTO -- of which everyone wonders if it still exists.
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@Wolfvain-qs5su Sweden is cranking up production of 155mm shells quite nicely. In case you don't know, Sweden has a sizable defence industry. Bofors cannon are legend.
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Germany imposes strict export conditions on its weapons and technology. Sweden does too, by the way. A good example were ex-GDR Soviet-made howitzers that Finland picked up, only to sell them to Estonia, which gave them to Ukraine. All three, but first and foremost Germany, had to agree to the transfer.
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He's far from finished. He's already got Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia lined up for recruitment. In the more distant future, there are Karelia, Ingria and Amberland.
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Nope, co-developer Germany has a say in it. The same goes for SAAB's Gripens, which can't be exported without US say-so. The Gripen's engine is of US origin, as are many other components.
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Germany won't switch back to 'Wandel durch Handel'. Putin's Russia is just incorrigible. The only prospective for limited energy 'Handel' is Putin's ousting and Russia's tangile progress toward a modern democratic society.
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@jaystrickland4151 The US has nothing to object to when it comes to German energy purchases. Germany's problem was that it stuck to its 'Wandel durch Handel' principle without a plan B. Germany, like the rest of the world, could not believe that Putin was economically suicidal. The gas station that masquerades as a country chased away its biggest and best customer.
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