Russia says NATO membership in Finland, Sweden will disrupt security in Europe
When Finland and Sweden apply for membership in NATO, Russia has expressed its dissatisfaction with the situation and says that it could disrupt security in Europe. Russia’s ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, said that Finland and Sweden joining NATO would be detrimental to their and Europe’s security and that the two countries would be forced to deal with Russia as an adversary. He further said that if this happens, the Russians will have to change their impression of previously neutral countries as launching pads for NATO threats.
According to reports from Sputnik, Stepanov stated that US decision-makers have decided to expand NATO while ignoring Russian security concerns. The envoy also warned that NATO expansion, especially possible membership of Finland and Sweden, would exacerbate tensions. He further said that NATO is a nuclear-military machine that has arrived on Russia’s doorstep, adding that accepting Finland and Sweden in the fold extends NATO’s line of contact with Russia by more than 1,300 kilometers. He argued that the borders that have been politically and militarily stable until now will be thrown into the arc of NATO-Russia tensions if the two countries join NATO.
Stepanov went on to say that the bureaucracies of the United States and NATO use a variety of strategies to persuade certain political camps in Finland and Sweden to renounce their peaceful way of life and change northern Europe from a zone of military alliance, stability and prosperity to yet a potential war zone.
Finland and Sweden would lose their sovereign status: Russian envoy
The envoy stated that Finland and Sweden would lose their sovereign and autonomous status and would be forced to follow the collective NATO discipline introduced by the United States, which is sometimes incompatible with their security needs. He went on to state that Finns and Swedes should carefully assess the circumstances before deciding on NATO membership, according to Sputnik.
Stepanov also said: “Do Finns and Swedes really want to be drawn in the US geopolitical march against Russia? We are neighbors, and the price of responsibility for the three of us is much higher than for the ideologues in Washington DC. In these tests times for European security can be just hope that wisdom wins – so that the Finnish and Swedish voters and their elected representatives once again review and assess whether the NATO caps are worth it. “
(With input from ANI, Image: AP)