Russia warns of ‘consequences’ if Finland, Sweden joins NATO
Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine have triggered a dramatic turnaround in public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-term military freedom of alliance.
Finland said this week that it will decide whether to apply for NATO membership within a few weeks, and Sweden is also discussing joining the alliance.
“The choice is up to the authorities in Sweden and Finland. But they should understand the consequences of such a step for our bilateral relations and for the architecture for European security as a whole,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement.
She added that Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO “is unlikely to help strengthen (their) international prestige”.
Zakharova said the two countries’ freedom of alliance policies “provided a reliable level of security”, while membership in a military alliance “is not capable of strengthening their national security”.
“They will automatically be at the forefront of NATO,” Zakharova said.
Former Russian President