Russia Reacts to Sweden Possibly Joining NATO

Moscow considers Sweden a neutral country, said the Foreign Minister, but explained that the incorporation of this northern neighbor to the Western military bloc would change the situation.

In an interview with the newspaper Dagens Nyheter, broadcasted by the RT television network, the minister stressed that Russia would not consider Sweden an enemy if their joining NATO becomes a reality.

However, he said that the Kremlin would be forced to react to this new strategic change near its northern borders.

Lavrov stressed that NATO has proclaimed that its mission is the containment of Russia, which it perceives as its main threat, which is used as the reason for taking security measures against Russia.

In relation to Sweden, the Foreign Minister said, Moscow reaffirms the right of each State to decide what type of security they choose based on their national interests.

The head of Russian diplomacy said that maybe the right thing would be to ask the opinion of the Swedish people about whether they wish their country to become part of NATO.

He recalled the recent case of Montenegro, whose government ignored the public after being invited to join the North Atlantic alliance, and asked what can this country add to NATO in terms of security.

Lavrov stressed that it actually comes down to occupying as much geopolitical space as possible, and lay siege to countries that disagree with NATO, such as Russia and Serbia.

The director of the National Defense magazine, Igor Korotchenko, said in statements to RIA Novosti that the main threat to Russia from Sweden could come from military infrastructure targets.

He listed airfields, naval bases and electronics surveillance centers that could be linked to NATO troops in Europe for possible aggressive actions against Russia. He added that in this case, it would be appropriate to strengthen the Russian troops in the northwest, in addition to renewing the Baltic Fleet, including the purchase of new ships and submarines outfitted with Kalibr cruise missiles, which have a range of up to two thousand kilometers.

According to Korotchenko, the Russian Armed Forces could create and deploy, in the western military area another missile launcher, equipped with the Iskander-M complexes, and also deploy Bastion-P coastal defense systems in the Kaliningrad enclave.