Having arrived in Stockholm on September 4 for the first ever visit to Sweden by an acting US president, Barack Obama broke with the agenda for discussions focusing on climate change and new technologies to focus on events in Syria, in the run-up to the G20 meeting in Saint Petersburg.
In a statement issued following a diplomatic dinner, the government leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden joined with the US president in calling for the international community to assume its responsibilities with regard to the situation in the Middle Eastern country.
For Svenska Dagbladet —
… Obama’s appearance in Stockholm was more oriented towards the world than it was towards his hosts. He has changed his mind on the issue of Syria and now believes that there is a moral imperative to take action. [Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik] Reinfeldt repeated that intervention in Syria will have to be backed by the UN.
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