Russia asserts will take action if Finland and Sweden actually joined the North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationNATO).
The spokesman for the Presidential Kremlin’s Office, Dmitry Peskov, said if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, then Russia would have to “rebalance the situation” with its own actions.
“If the two countries (Finland-Sweden) join NATO, we will have to make the defenses on the west wing (Russia) even more sophisticated in ensuring the security of the country,” Peskov told Sky News Britain was quoted as saying. Reuters last week.
However, Peskov said Russia did not see the Swedish and Finnish plans as an existential threat, which could prompt Moscow to consider using nuclear weapons.
Finland and Sweden are said to be ready to apply for membership in NATO in early summer, which falls around the end of May.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted various European countries, including the two Nordic countries, to consider joining the US-led alliance. One of the reasons is to reduce Russian influence and threats.
This is because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Russia’s aggression is not only targeting his country, but also other European countries. Meanwhile, a number of parties consider NATO to be one of the strong reasons for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because Moscow considers the alliance’s expansion in Western Europe to disturb its security.
US officials say, to become members of NATO, Sweden and Finland must go through several stages.
“[Kedua negara harus melalui] discussion of several sessions, “the official said according to a report by The Times quoted by Reuters on Sunday (10/4).
This week, the Finnish government will submit a national review to the parliament, Eduskunta, to make its own decisions, before voting on the country’s plans to register as a NATO member.
“We will have a very careful discussion but it will not take longer than it should be,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at a press conference on Friday (8/4).
Meanwhile, former Finnish PM who also supports this country joining NATO, Alexander Stubb, said Finland might make a quick decision when the world is changing as much as it is today, torn apart when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to craze.
I think we will end the discussion before midsummer. I guess the member submission is around May [sebelum KTT NATO pada Juni di Madrid],” kata Stubb.
Finland and Sweden’s plans to join NATO emerged during talks between the alliance’s foreign ministers last week. The discussion emphasized the extent to which the Russian invasion had revived and unified the NATO alliance.
Finland declared independence in 1917. Then in 1939, the Soviet Union had attacked Finland during the Winter War.
Hostilities ended in a peace agreement, and Finland ceded some border areas to the Soviet Union.
During that time, Finland remained outside the transatlantic military alliance, and focused on maintaining their defense capabilities and troop readiness.
However, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland has begun to think about maintaining its neutral status. The country has conducted a series of intensive talks to seek opinion from NATO member states on a possible offer of membership.
(isa/rds)
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