In the midst of a war against Ukraine, the Russian government, led by Vladimir Putin, issued a warning to Finland and Sweden, should they decide to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Both countries reaffirmed the principle that “the security of some states should not be built at the expense of the security of other countries,” recalled the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the world power, Maria Zakharova.

In this sense, the possible acceptance of Sweden and Finland in NATO will have reprisals from Russia, Zajarova emphasized. “It is clear that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, which is primarily a military bloc, would have serious military and political consequences that would require our country to take reciprocal action,” she said. Meanwhile, Finland has banned the Russian channel RT showing its support for Ukraine.

On the other hand, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced at another time that he had extended an invitation to Finland and Sweden -which are not members of the organization- to participate in the alliance’s virtual emergency summit this 25th of February 2022, to analyze the situation that Ukraine is currently experiencing.

For her part, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin mentioned at a parliamentary meeting that her nation is ready to apply for NATO membership if any threat to its national security arises.