Updated 00:08 | Published 2023-07-11 23:58
Vladimir Putin has threatened an escalation if NATO expands.
After Turkey’s announcement, the Kremlin issues a new warning to Sweden and Finland.
– Necessary measures will be taken, says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously threatened countermeasures if NATO forces and military infrastructure from the defense alliance are placed in Sweden and Finland. Then Russia must “create the same threat for the territories from which threats against us are created”, Putin said of the Nordic countries’ NATO accession last year.
After Turkey’s decision to accept Sweden’s NATO application, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov makes a similar threat.
– The necessary measures will be taken. We know what these measures should be and how they should be put into practice, Lavrov said, according to Russian state-controlled news agency Paw.
“Will draw conclusions”
It is at a press conference with Oman’s top diplomat Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi on Tuesday that Lavrov promises that “all Russia’s legitimate security interests will be protected”.
– We will definitely draw our conclusions depending on how quickly and extensively NATO will use the territory of Finland and Sweden, he says.
– There is no doubt that this will be done because both Helsinki and Stockholm are already discussing a variety of issues with the United States concerning, for example, the deployment of the alliance’s infrastructure right on the Russian border with Finland and very close to our border with Sweden.
Surprised by Sweden
With the entry into NATO, Sweden and Finland can forget the advantages Lavrov believes that the countries had in Russia when it comes to collaborations that, among other things, relate to trade, economy or investments, according to the foreign minister.
– All the national interests of the Finnish and Swedish states were sacrificed for the need to unite the West in the fight against, in this particular case, Russia, he says.
– It was surprising how quickly both Finland and Sweden gave up their neutral status and the advantages this gave them for decades, ensuring their relatively independent role, as well as their reputation and authority both in Europe and on the international stage.