Russia has promised “serious consequences” if Finland and Sweden, countries known for their neutrality, join NATO. At a press conference on Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was aware of “targeted efforts by NATO and some member countries of the bloc, first of all the United States” to include the two countries in the Atlantic Alliance.
“It is clear that the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO, which is a military bloc, would have serious political-military consequences, which would require a response from our country,” said Zakharova.
The representative of Russian diplomacy praised “the Finnish government’s policy of military non-alignment as an important factor in ensuring security in northern Europe and across the European continent.” She stressed, however, that the “practical interaction” between the capitals Helsinki, Stockholm and NATO has grown recently, through maneuvers in these locations.
“These countries offered their territories for NATO exercises near Russia’s borders, in which US forces mimicked nuclear weapons attacks against an adversary deemed to be equivalent,” he warned.
The spokeswoman stated that Finland and Sweden have confirmed the principle of the indivisibility of security as members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). “The choice of ways to ensure national defense and security is an internal and sovereign matter for each state,” commented Zakharova.
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