Russia considered any end to Finland’s military neutrality a “mistake”. (representative)
Moscow:
Russia warned on Monday that decisions by Finland and Sweden to join NATO’s military alliance were grave mistakes and that Moscow would take action.
“This is another serious mistake with far-reaching consequences,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters.
“The general level of military tensions will increase,” he told Russian news agencies.
He added: “It is unfortunate that common sense is being sacrificed for some phantom ideas about what should be done in the current situation.”
Ryabkov said the security of the two countries would not increase as a result of the move and that Moscow would take action.
“They should not have the illusion that we will just accept this,” he said.
Finland and Sweden are on the brink of jettisoning decades of military non-alignment to join NATO as a defense against Russia’s feared aggression.
Moscow has warned Finland, with which it shares a 1,300-kilometer (800 mi) border, that it would take “reciprocal steps”.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the country’s application for NATO membership.
The Kremlin said Putin considered any end to Finland’s military neutrality a “mistake”.
Finland announced its intention to join NATO on Sunday as Sweden’s ruling party said it supported membership and paved the way for a joint application.
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