Moscow/ Helsinki/ Stockholm | Jagran News Desk: Amid the ongoing deadly conflict with Ukraine, Russia has warned Sweden and Finland of "serious military and political consequences" if the two countries are given the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said the Kremlin would be forced to take retaliatory actions if Sweden and Finland join the United States-led alliance.
"It’s obvious that if Finland and Sweden join NATO, which is, first of all, a military organization, it will entail serious military-political consequences, which would require retaliatory steps by the Russian Federation," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday.
"We view Finland’s course for maintaining the policy of military non-alignment as an important factor contributing to stability and security in northern Europe and on the European continent as a whole."
"We can’t fail to see consistent efforts by NATO and some of its members, primarily the US, to drag Finland as well as Sweden into the alliance," she added.
Why Russia is against Sweden and Finland's NATO membership?
Sweden and Finland - along with Austria, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta - have not been given NATO membership yet. Since the end of the second world war, the two countries have remained neutral. However, their stance started changing from 1995 after they became members of the European Union (EU).
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Both countries are worried about Russia's aggressive stance in the region and believe that a NATO membership might help them in a war-like situation. The two have also secured close military cooperation with the US, the United Kingdom (UK), and Norway.
It should be noted that Sweden and Finland - who are also members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) - were earlier members of territories which were once a part of the Russian empire.
Russia has said that all OSCE member states "in their national capacity have reaffirmed the principle that the security of one country cannot be built at the expense of the security of others."
Is there any domestic support for Finland and Sweden?
Helsingin Sanomat - Finland's largest daily - had recently conducted a poll and found that 28 per cent of the respondents want the country to become a NATO member. However, 42 per cent of respondents were unsure or against the decision, according to Reuters.
In Sweden, people in the recent past want the country to join NATO, according to a report by The Local.
How Sweden, Finland have responded to Russia's warnings?
Both the countries have brushed off Russian warnings. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has said that "we've heard this before." "We don’t think that it calls for a military threat," said Haavisto, as reported by AP.
Sweden has also made a similar statement. "I want to be extremely clear. It is Sweden that itself and independently decides on our security policy line," said Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, as reported by AP.