Russian officials have reacted angrily to NATO’s bid to join Finland and Sweden, calling it a “destabilizing” effort that will increase tensions in the region.
“We condemn the irresponsible course of the North Atlantic Alliance that is ruining European architecture, or what’s left of it,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Riabkov told reporters on Wednesday.
“I have many doubts about whether the next period will be calm for our northern European neighbors,” he added.
Sign up for First Edition, our free daily newsletter, every weekday morning at 7:00 BST
The decision came after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has led 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 joined international aid and sanctions efforts.
A statement issued at a NATO summit in Madrid said that “the accession of Finland and Sweden will make them (the allies) safer, NATO stronger and the Euro-Atlantic area safer.”
But in Russia, the news became known coldly.
Konstantin Kosachev, a member of the Council of the Russian Federation, said that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO “would certainly mean a worsening of relations between these two countries and Russia.”
He noted that Finland and Russia share a long land border, while Russia and Sweden have shared interests in the Baltic and Barents areas.
“All of that would definitely change for the worse, and definitely not on Russia’s initiative,” he said. “That can only be regretted.”
The accession of the two countries to NATO would mean the end of a decades-old status quo that saw Finland, in particular, maintain a certain degree of neutrality during the Cold War to avoid a direct confrontation with the Soviet Union.
The week before the decision, Russia’s foreign ministry announced it would sever ties with a Finnish NGO and banned two Swedish organizations, the Swedish Agency for International Development Cooperation 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 the Baltic countries, which are members of NATO, which has raised concerns about a direct clash between Moscow and members of the security alliance.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, another senior lawmaker, told a Russian radio station on Wednesday that a blockade of the Russian region of Kaliningrad could provoke an “armed conflict” with Lithuania.
“If we feel that this security is being violated and 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 ignored the arguments blamed for the NATO enlargement caused by the invasion, as well as NATO’s decision to “deploy robust and prepared additional forces for combat on our flank.” oriental “.
“In the end, [Finland and Sweden] it will delegate part of its political and foreign defense sovereignty to Washington and other so-called senior NATO partners, “said Ryabkov, who described it as” covering up “the alliance’s” aggressive intentions “toward Russia.
“A new strategic concept will be adopted and Russia will be designated as a threat to the alliance. This has nothing to do with real life; it is the alliance that poses a threat to us.”