Russia officially clarified its position, today, Saturday, on the intention of Finland and Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "NATO", and warned that this would have consequences, and that it would lead to "the militarization of the North."
Russian news agencies quoted Russian Assistant Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying today, Saturday, that Russia will take what he described as "appropriate precautionary measures", in the event of NATO forces and nuclear infrastructure near the Russian borders.
"It will be necessary to respond ... by taking appropriate precautionary measures that ensure the continuation of deterrence," Grushko said, adding that his country has no aggressive intentions towards Finland and Sweden, and does not see any "real" reasons for the two countries to join NATO.
Grushko has repeated the Kremlin's previous saying that Moscow's response to a possible NATO expansion will depend on how the alliance transfers military equipment to Russia and the infrastructure it deploys, according to Reuters.
Finland's intention to apply for NATO membership, which it announced on Thursday and expects Sweden to follow, would expand the Western military alliance, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has said aims to prevent.
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that it is premature to talk about Russia's deployment of nuclear weapons in the Baltic region.
"Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO will lead to the militarization of the region," Grushko said. "This accession does not meet the interests of Sweden and Finland, nor the interests of maintaining European security and stability, nor the interests of regional stability."
And he added that this "will only lead to the militarization of the northern region, which until recently was the most militarily peaceful region in Europe, where the focus was on cooperation and not competition in the military sphere. Now the picture will change radically," according to the Russian RIA Novosti news agency. to the news.
"All this is consistent with the infamous search for an enemy, which is expressed in a practical military-political sense in the demonization of Russia," Grushko noted.
Grushko wondered why Sweden and Finland had shifted from non-nuclear neutral status, after they were two of the countries that most actively advocated the prohibition and destruction of nuclear weapons in the world.
He warned that if nuclear weapons were deployed near Russia's borders, "we will respond appropriately."
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- Agencies