Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister of Russia.
Andrei Rudakov | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Russia says a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer be possible if Finland and Sweden join NATO, alluding to additional nuclear deployments in Europe.
“There is no longer any question of a nuclear-weapon-free status for the Baltic Sea – the balance must be restored,” wrote Dmitry Medvedev, former President and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, on his official Telegram channel on Thursday.
The comments come a day after Finland and Sweden said their decision on whether to apply for NATO membership would be made within weeks. The country leaders said their security assessments had changed dramatically after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
If Finland and Sweden join NATO, it would give Moscow “more officially registered adversaries,” Medvedev added. He claimed that NATO plans to admit the two Nordic countries with “minimal bureaucratic procedures”.
Russia’s response should be taken “without emotion, with a cold head,” he added.
The Baltic States, which includes the north-eastern European countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are members of the EU and NATO. Finland and Sweden are members of the EU but not NATO, and the latter shares an 830-mile border with Russia.
Lithuania, which borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, dismissed Medvedev’s comments on Thursday.
It’s “nothing new,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, adding that Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltics.
“The current Russian threats look quite strange when we know that they keep the weapon 100km from the Lithuanian border even without the current security situation,” the minister was quoted as saying by Lithuania’s BNS bulletin.
“Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad… the international community, the countries of the region, are perfectly aware of that… They use it as a threat,” he added.
Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted a reversal in Finnish public opinion towards joining the 30-strong military alliance, which it has not joined since World War II in order to maintain its neutrality. Moscow has in the past warned of serious consequences and instability in the Nordic countries should Finland join.
If Finland were to join the alliance, Sweden would likely follow. Finland and Sweden, as well as Ukraine, are already Enhanced Opportunity Partners of NATO, the closest form of partnership with the Alliance, and take part in military exercises with NATO countries.