Both countries’ accession to NATO would mean doubling the land borders between Russia and the Alliance, borders that should be “strengthened” according to Russia, which warns that “there can no longer be talk of a Baltic Sea without nuclear weapons”.
Former President of Russia and current Vice President of the Russian Security Council Dimitry Medvedev warned this Thursday that if Finland and Sweden join NATORussia will have “more officially registered opponents” as it reflects on the loss of the Baltic region’s non-nuclear status.
“If Sweden and Finland join NATO, the length of the Alliance’s land borders with Russia will more than double”, he considered, before insisting that, “of course”, those boundaries will have to be “strengthened” Russia must respond ‘without emotion, with a cool head’.
“It will be necessary to strengthen the ground forces group, the anti-aircraft defenses, to deploy important naval forces in the waters of the Gulf of Finland. And in that case it will no longer be possible to speak of a Baltic Sea without nuclear weapons The balance must be restored,” the senior official wrote on his Telegram account.
On the other hand, the former president has expressed his “disagreement” with the view that if Russia had not started its invasion of Ukraine, the issue of Finland’s and Swedish accession to NATO would not have arisen. “Efforts have been made before to get them into the Alliance,” he said.
The two social-democratic heads of government of both countries, Sweden’s Magdalena Andersson and Finland’s Sanna Marin, met on Wednesday to discuss a hypothetical accession to the Alliance. Both agreed that the war between Russia and Ukraine is changing European security policy and requiring a new analysis, including its relationship with NATO.
Finland announced on Wednesday that the decision end of the Nordic country upon its accession to NATO “in weeks” The Swedish press, for its part, revealed that the intention of Sweden is to announce you enter in the Alliance for June- this year, coinciding with the celebration in Madrid of the NATO summit
This would be the ideal scenario to formalize the application for membership, which, as Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has explained on several occasions, could be swift given the high degree of alignment with NATO standards.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
