Vladimir Putin has issued a fresh warning that Russia will respond in kind if NATO establishes military infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after joining the US-led coalition.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying he could not rule out that joining NATO would strain Moscow’s ties with Helsinki and Stockholm.
“We don’t have as many problems with Sweden and Finland as we have with Ukraine,” the Russian president told a news conference in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. “We don’t have regional differences.”
“If Finland and Sweden want, they can join. It’s up to them. They can join whatever they want.”
However, he warned that “if troop and military infrastructure were deployed there, we would be obliged to respond symmetrically and take on similar threats to areas where threats pose to us”.
Russia has repeatedly warned Finland and Sweden against joining NATO, saying such a move would have “serious military and political consequences” by strengthening its security in the Baltic Sea region, including the deployment of nuclear weapons, “to balance the military.” will be forced to reinstate”.
Russian officials previously reacted angrily to NATO’s offer of Finland and Sweden’s membership, calling it a “destabilizing” effort that would increase tensions in the region.
“We condemn the irresponsible manner in which the North Atlantic Alliance is ruining European architecture, or what is left of it,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Wednesday.
“I have great doubts about whether the times ahead will be calm for our northern European neighbours,” he said.
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The decision follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Russian neighbors to appeal to NATO for additional security guarantees. Some have said Russia will target countries in Eastern and Northern Europe that have condemned the war and have joined international aid and sanctions efforts.
A communique published at the NATO summit in Madrid said that “the accession of Finland and Sweden will make them (allies) safer, NATO stronger and the Euro-Atlantic region more secure”.
But in Russia this news was shelved.
Russia’s Federation Council member Konstantin Kosachev said that Finland and Sweden joining NATO would certainly mean a deterioration in relations between the two countries and Russia.
He said Finland and Russia share a long land border, while Russia and Sweden share common interests in the Baltic and Barents Sea regions.
“All this will certainly change for the worse, and certainly not on the initiative of Russia,” he said. “It can only be regretted.”
Joining NATO would mean the end of the decades-long status quo, which saw Finland maintain a degree of neutrality, especially during the Cold War, to avoid a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union.
A week before the decision, Russia’s foreign ministry announced it would break ties with a Finnish NGO and sanction two Swedish organisations, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the Swedish Institute. In a statement, the ministry accused the organizations of “focusing on efforts to destabilize Russian society”.
Tensions have risen between Russia and countries in the Baltic region, which are members of NATO, raising concerns of a direct confrontation between Moscow and members of the Security Alliance.
Another senior lawmaker, Vladimir Dzhabarov, told a Russian radio station on Wednesday that Russia’s blockade of the Kaliningrad region could lead to an “armed conflict” with Lithuania.
“If we feel that this security is being violated and it threatens us with the loss of our territory, of course, we will take extreme measures and nothing will stop us,” he said.
Russian officials have disregarded arguments that they are responsible for the invasion-induced NATO expansion, as well as NATO’s decision to “deploy additional strong battle-ready forces on our eastern flank”.
“Ultimately, [Finland and Sweden] will hand over some of its foreign political and defense sovereignty to Washington and other so-called senior NATO partners,” Ryabkov called it “cover” for the coalition’s “aggressive intentions” towards Russia.
“A new strategic concept will be adopted, and Russia will be designated as a threat to the alliance. It has nothing to do with real life; it is the alliance that poses a threat to us.”