Russia compares ambitions of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden in NATO

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, unlike UkraineFinland and Sweden have no territorial disputes with Russia.

“We have no territorial disputes with Finland or Sweden. Ukraine can potentially become a member of NATO, and in this case, Russia will have a territorial dispute with the member state of the alliance, which will bring great risks to the whole continent. quoted Mr. Peskov speaking to the press on May 16.

Peskov was referring to the situation around Crimea, which voted overwhelmingly in a 2014 referendum to annex Russia. Ukraine calls the peninsula – which has a Russian-speaking majority – as “occupied territory” and says it will seek to regain control. Crimea.

The assurance that Ukraine becomes a neutral country and will never join NATO is cited by Russia as one of the main reasons for its ongoing military campaign.

Spokesman Peskov pointed out that Moscow is still monitoring the latest possible expansion of NATO “most closely” to assess the consequences for Russia’s national security.

“We do not believe that the admission of Sweden and Finland (which shares a 1,340 km land border with Russia) will somehow strengthen and improve the security architecture on our continent,” Peskov said.

Sweden and Finland stayed out of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization during the Cold War, but their governments now claim that the conflict in Ukraine has become a game-changer.

A country wants to join NATO must be agreed to by all 30 member countries. On May 16, US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the US Congress could approve Stockholm and Helsinki’s applications to join NATO “before August”. According to Mr. McConnell, the remaining 29 member countries could approve sooner.

Last week, the Swedish and Finnish efforts were met with sudden opposition from Turkey. Ankara considers these two Nordic countries to be “hostages of Kurdish groups listed as terrorist organizations by Turkey”. However, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana expressed confidence that the military alliance will be able to overcome Turkey’s objections.