“Russia has no problems with Finland and Sweden,” the Kremlin leader added, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
“During the special operation in Ukraine, documented evidence was obtained attesting to the fact that biological weapons laboratories were created near our borders,” Putin said.
Shortly before, the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, had said that the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO is “a mistake with far-reaching consequences.”
As reported by the Interfax agency, speaking to journalists in Moscow, Ryabkov said that “the general level of military tensions will increase And there will be less predictability in this area.”
“This is another serious mistake with transcendental consequences. Well, this is the level of those who make the respective decisions in their respective countries,” he added bluntly.
NATO “must have no illusions” that Russia can tolerate the accession of Sweden and Finland to the Alliance, warned Ryabkov, quoted by the Interfax agency.
Meanwhile, the Finnish and Swedish parliaments are currently evaluating the two Nordic countries’ candidacies for NATO, with large majorities secured in both chambers.
In Finland, a vote is scheduled for Tuesday as soon as possible and according to Finnish media, at least 85% of the 200 parliamentarians will vote in favor of joining NATO.
At the same time, the Swedish parliament was also in session today. Six of the eight parties with legislative representation are now in favor of affiliation, which represents a theoretical majority of 304 deputies out of a total of 349.
Amid rising Alliance tensions with Russia, NATO is expected to launch today one of the largest exercises in the history of the Baltic states. Its code name is Hedgehog and soldiers and media from Finland and Sweden will participate.
The exercises will take place in Estonia over the next two weeks and will involve 15,000 soldiers from 10 countries, including the UK, the US and the two Nordic countries that hope to become partners but are not yet.
Although planned long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the exercises take place at a time of particular tension between NATO and Moscow.
Source: Ambito
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