Sweden's armed forces have cleared the way for the full privatisation of TeliaSonera to go forward, removing a potential obstacle to France Telecom's $41bn takeover bid for the Nordic operator.

"The Swedish armed forces believe that a change in ownership of TeliaSonera AB is possible from a security point of view - provided that necessary measures are taken to ensure the security of the Swedish armed forces and other authorities," concluded their report delivered to the government yesterday.