Moscow has warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland join the military alliance, Russia will have to step up its defense in the region by threatening to deploy nuclear weapons in the Baltic Sea.
“We can no longer talk about the nuclear-free status of the Baltic Sea, the balance must be restored,” said Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council.
“To date, Russia has not taken such measures and will not do so,” Medvedev said. “If our hand is forced, well … note that we did not offer this.”
Mr Medvedev did not specify where this would happen or what measures could be implemented, but Russia has its own Kaliningrad exclave, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, and has only recently conducted naval exercises in the Baltic Sea.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin was also considering how best to boost Russia’s security in light of possible developments, with the defense ministry presenting its proposals on the subject.
Ingrida Simonetti, Lithuania’s prime minister, responded by rejecting the threat of an increase in Russian troops in the region as a familiar element in the Kremlin’s book.
“The fact that Russia is threatening is nothing new,” she told reporters. “Kaliningrad is a very militarized zone, it has existed for many years and is in the Baltic region.
View shows a Russian naval warship during artillery fire exercises in the Baltic Sea, in this still image taken from a video published on January 27
(via REUTERS)
On Wednesday, Finland said it would decide whether to apply to join the alliance in the next few weeks, while Sweden is also reviewing its security policy with conclusions expected next month.
Sanna Marin, the Finnish prime minister, said her country must be “prepared for any action by Russia”, adding that “there is no other way to have security guarantees” except for Article 5 deterrence and NATO’s common defense policy. who states that an attack on one should be considered an attack on all.
“I will not give any schedule when we will make our decisions, but I think it will happen quite quickly, within weeks, not months,” she said.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, and recent videos appear to show Russia moving military equipment near its border with Finland in an apparent show of force.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sits in front of a screen depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin
(AFP via Getty Images)
Many Finns have changed their minds about NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with more than two-thirds supporting membership in a recent MTV poll. The survey found that 68% of respondents support joining the bloc, while only 12% oppose it.
Sweden, which has not fought a war for more than 200 years and is less exposed to Russian aggression because it has no land border with Russia, is also considering joining the bloc.
The Swedish Prime Minister, Magdalena Anderson, said that there were pros and cons to being a member, but the main advantage was the security of Article 5.
Until recently, the two northern neighbors believed that peace was best maintained by not publicly choosing a country.
Mr Peskov had previously warned that Russia would have to “rebalance the situation” with its own measures if any of the countries joined NATO.
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