Russia warns of reprisals for any threats made by Sweden and Finland after joining NATO

A deputy spokesman for Russian Foreign Ministry warned on July 6 that Moscow will undoubtedly retaliate against any obstacles Sweden or Finland may posses following ir mission to NATO. mission of Sweden and Finland to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would be "a step closer to escalation of political and military tensions in Europe," Russian diplomat warned ding that it would "aggravate things for Baltic and Arctic regions."

"While getting rey to join NATO, Helsinki and Stockholm should realize what consequences this could le to. Russia would inevitably respond to any measures (Nordic) countries could take in order to pose threats to it," Alexey Zaitsev said at a press conference.

According to Zaitsev, re will be significantly less potential for peaceful cooperation, which is in high demand in Nordic region. He went on to say that Helsinki and Stockholm must obey NATO's Brussels, or more specifically, Washington, directives. According to diplomat, Washington used NATO summit in Mrid to demonstrate "who's boss."

 Russian diplomat regretted that two independent Nordic countries "that have me a substantial contribution to development of key military security elements after Cold War actually consented to sharing same fate as NATO’s periphery near frontlines, in fact, getting mselves dragged into someone else’s geopolitical game against Russia."

Finland and Sweden concluded accession talks at NATO HQ

On July 4, Finland and Sweden concluded accession talks at NATO Hequarters in Brussels. talks were held between NATO officials and representatives from two countries, according to a NATO statement, with Finnish delegation led by Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen, and Swedish delegation led by Foreign Minister Ann Linde.

To complete official procedures, representatives from 30 NATO member countries signed accession protocols of Sweden and Finland on July 5, in accordance with decision me at NATO's Mrid summit. For many years, Sweden and Finland were content to cooperate with NATO without joining military alliance. But after Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine in February, situation in Europe changed, and those two historically neutral countries filed applications to join NATO. 

Image: AP