Russia warns of ‘consequences’ if Finland, Sweden join NATO
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Friday warned of unspecified “consequences” if Finland and Sweden join the US-led NATO defense alliance, after Moscow sends troops in Ukraine.
Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine have sparked a dramatic shift in public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-standing military misalignment policies.
Finland has said it will decide this week whether to apply for NATO membership within weeks, and Sweden is also discussing joining the alliance.
“The choice is up to the Swedish and Finnish authorities. But they must understand the consequences of such a move for our bilateral relations and for the European security architecture as a whole,” she said. spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova in a statement.
She added that the membership of Sweden and Finland in NATO is unlikely to contribute to strengthening their (their) international prestige.
Zakharova said the two countries’ non-alignment policies “provided a reliable level of security”, while membership in a military alliance “is incapable of strengthening their national security”.
“They will automatically find themselves on the NATO front line,” Zakharova said.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday that Russia would use nuclear weapons near the three Baltic states and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden decided to join.
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