Putin warns of repercussions if Finland & Sweden welcome NATO troops onto their territory

Hours after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the military alliance, the Russian President reacted strongly and warned of "possible repercussions". Addressing a news conference in Turkmenistan on Wednesday, Vladimir Putin maintained he has no issues if Nordic countries join the US-backed military alliance but warned Moscow will respond "in kind" if both the nations welcome NATO troops and military infrastructure onto their territory. Earlier, Putin had said that "If Sweden and Finland want to join the NATO alliance, Moscow does not have any issues with it. In fact, if they want to join NATO, go ahead."

In a statement on Wednesday, he said: "Only we must clearly and precisely understand -- while there was no threat before, in the case of military contingents and military infrastructure being deployed there, we will have to respond symmetrically and raise the same threats in those territories from where threats have arisen for us," CNN reported.

Notably, on Wednesday, during the NATO Summit in Madrid, the NATO Heads of State and Government said in a declaration that it decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO, and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols. "The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO stronger, and the Euro-Atlantic area more secure. The security of Finland and Sweden is of direct importance to the Alliance, including during the accession process," the declaration read.

Turkey agrees to support Finland & Sweden's NATO application bid

It is pertinent to mention that a major turn came on Wednesday as Turkey, which had shown reluctance in accepting the NATO memberships of the Nordic nations, has lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden’s bid to join the bloc, AP reported. Speaking during a meeting with US President Joe Biden on the margins of the NATO summit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "We are trying to solve the process with a balancing policy. Our hope is that this balanced policy will lead to results and allow us the possibility to get grain to countries that are facing shortages right now through a corridor as soon as possible."  

Image: AP