Moscow/Madrid: – Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the membership allotted by NATO to Sweden and Finland is a part of the ambitious NATO expansion plan. At the same time, President Putin also warned that NATO is trying to prove its dominance through the Ukraine conflict. On Wednesday, NATO announced inviting Sweden and Finland to join the organisation. This reaction of the Russian President is regarding that.  

Moreover, Sweden and Finland have started preparations to join NATO. Both the countries have distanced themselves from the nonaligned policy adopted over the last seven decades. Turkey, a NATO member, objected to Sweden and Turkey’s entry. Turkey withdrew its opposition after mediation by the US and NATO leadership. Turkey signed an agreement with Sweden and Finland on Tuesday. This has cleared the blocks for the entry of these two countries into NATO.   

Against this background, the Russian President has clarified his stand on the matter. Russian President Putin warned that Russia has no disputes with Sweden and Finland like Ukraine. If these countries intend to join NATO, they are free to do so. There did not ever pose any threat to Russia. But if NATO deploys military in these countries, it will create a threat to Russia and Russia will retaliate appropriately. He also blamed that NATO’s decision to award membership to Sweden and Finland demonstrates the expansionist ambitions of NATO.   

Furthermore, Putin pointed out that Sweden and Finland should remember that joining NATO may put the relations between Russia and these two countries in jeopardy. Putin added that tension between Russia and these new NATO members could increase. Earlier, President Putin had warned Finland of dire consequences. Russia even stopped the fuel supply to Finland. But ignoring the Russian actions, Finland has decided to join NATO. Therefore, indications are that Russia will increase military deployments on these fronts.   

The NATO expansion has been consistently a point of contention between Russia and the western countries. Russian President Putin adopted an aggressive stand on the issue and stressed increasing Russian defence preparedness. At the same time, the Russian leadership also warned that a nuclear conflict could flare up if NATO intruded into the area of Russian influence. 

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