Moscow/ TEH: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that “the status of the Baltic Sea as a nuclear-weapon-free zone will not be discussed if Finland and Sweden join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).”
Medvedev, who is currently the deputy head of the country’s Security Council, noted in a writing on his Telegram channel that when two more countries join the alliance (NATO), Russia will have two more “officially registered” adversaries, and the length of the land border of the alliance with Russia will double.
He said that Russia should “act calmly and without emotion”, and should strengthen the borderline with NATO, strengthen its ground forces and air defense system, and deploy naval forces in the Gulf of Finland.
He added, “In this case, there will be no talk of any nuclear-free status in the Baltic Sea, the balance must be re-balanced… Until today, Russia has not taken such measures, and was not planning to do so.”
Medvedev noted that “it is not appropriate to link the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO with the situation in Ukraine , as the two countries were considering joining NATO before the start of the conflict in Ukraine.”
The Russian official denied “the existence of border disputes with these countries, as is the case with Ukraine,” saying that “the price of this membership is different for us.”
He stressed that Ukraine’s accession to NATO could lead to a “direct conflict” between Russia and NATO, especially if Ukraine tries to regain Crimea. One of the magazines online , The Eastern Herald.
Medvedev also noted that public opinion in Finland and Sweden on joining NATO is “almost divided in half” despite the propaganda, adding that their accession to NATO would “make the world more dangerous.”
“No rational person would want higher prices and taxes, rising tensions along borders, hypersonic weapons, and nuclear-armed ships within the borders of his homeland,” he stressed.
He concluded his speech by saying, “Let’s hope that (choose the right one) will win the minds of our northern neighbors.”
On Monday, the British newspaper, The Times , revealed that Finland and Sweden are preparing to join NATO by next summer.
Last week, Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that “Joining and not joining NATO are two options that have consequences.”
Finnish leaders agreed to remain neutral during the Cold War in exchange for guarantees from Russia that it would not invade. Finland, with a population of 5.5 million, remained militarily non-aligned, in part to avoid provoking its eastern neighbor, which is separated by a 1,300 km border.
The change in the positions of Finland and Sweden about joining NATO came against the backdrop of Russia’s attack on Ukraine and its threat to neighboring countries with a similar fate if they contemplate joining NATO and abandoning neutrality.
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