Russia: Inclusion Of Finland And Sweden In NATO Would Trigger Response

Finland & Sweden in NATO would trigger response – Russia

RT

The possible inclusion of Sweden and Finland in NATO will have “serious” military and political consequences that won’t be left unanswered by Moscow, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has warned.

The persistent attempts by NATO to “draw those countries into the orbit of its interests and opportunistic policies” haven’t gone unnoticed by Russia, Maria Zakharova, the ministry’s spokeswoman, said.

“It’s quite obvious that Finland and Sweden joining NATO … would have serious military and political consequences that would require an adequate response from the Russian side,” she pointed out.

The policy of not being part of any alliances, traditionally pursued by Stockholm and Helsinki, is viewed by Moscow as “an important factor in ensuring stability in northern Europe,” Zakharova added.

NATO has been expressing its satisfaction over what it called deepening cooperation with Finland and Sweden, which “share” the block’s values and contribute to its operations.

At a summit in June, the US-led military alliance vowed to further bolster those ties “in support of our common security, including by crisis management preparation, exercises, and exchanging information and analysis.”

The same statements were repeated during the visit of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to Stockholm and Helsinki in late October.