By Guy Faulconbridge
LONDON – One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO on Thursday that Russia would have to station nuclear and hypersonic weapons in the central European enclave of Kaliningrad if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the coming weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, Russia must increase its land, sea and air forces in the Baltic Sea to restore military balance.
Medvedev also addressed the nuclear threat explicitly, saying one could no longer speak of a “nuclear-free” Baltic, where Russia maintains the Kaliningrad enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
“One can no longer speak of a denuclearized zone status for the Baltic Sea; The balance must be restored,” said Medvedev, who was president from 2008 to 2012.
Medvedev said he hoped Finland and Sweden would come to their senses. Otherwise, they would have to live nearby with nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles.
Asked how Washington views Sweden and Finland joining NATO in the face of Russia’s warning, the US State Department said there was no change in Washington’s position, repeating that “NATO’s open door is an open door.”
“Without speaking of any particular country, we are not concerned that expanding a defense alliance will do anything other than promote stability on the European continent,” ministry spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing.
Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine has left thousands dead and millions displaced, raising fears of a broader confrontation between Russia and the United States.
Putin says the “special military operation” in Ukraine is necessary because the United States used Ukraine to threaten Russia and Moscow needed to defend itself against Ukraine’s persecution of Russian speakers.
Ukraine says it is fighting imperialist expansion and that Putin’s claims of genocide are nonsense.