Sweden talking to US about closer military ties amid NATO process

OSLO (Reuters) - Sweden and the United States have begun negotiations to form deeper security ties in the form of a defence cooperation agreement (DCA), the Swedish government said in a statement on Monday.

A DCA will create a legal framework for the presence of U.S. forces in Sweden and enables an even closer bilateral cooperation than facilitated by NATO membership, the Swedish defence ministry said.

"The United States is Sweden's most important security and defence partner, both bilaterally and within NATO," the ministry said.

Sweden in May applied alongside Finland to join NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but the application is still awaiting the approval of members Hungary and Turkey.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto)