Russia's Lavrov sees no reason for Sweden, Finland to feel unsafe; avers 'NATO using them'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the NATO military alliance of using Sweden and Finland territories for expanding eastward. While speaking at the educational marathon conference New Horizons organised by the Russian Znanie (Knowledge) society on May 17, Lavrov said that he found nothing new in both countries seeking NATO membership. As per Lavrov, Finland, Sweden and other neutral countries have for years participated in NATO’s military exercises and now, the Intergovernmental organisation will use their territories for its expansion. 

"Finland, Sweden and other neutral countries have for years participated in NATO’s military exercises. NATO has taken its territories into account in planning its eastward movement. In this context, it apparently makes no difference anymore in connection with their admission to NATO," TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

He stressed that Russia saw no reasons "why Finland and Sweden should be worried about their security." Lavrov went on to accuse the West of lobbying the two countries to join the US backed military alliance. "For this reason, we see their decision, which Washington and NATO surely lobbied for, as a geopolitical move in the context of Russia’s containment and the implementation of NATO’s plans to spread its activities to the Arctic region," he added. He maintained that Moscow will keep a close eye on the way the US and NATO use their territory for expansion and added that Russia will act accordingly. 

Finland's Parliament votes in favour of NATO membership despite apparent Russian threat

Notably, earlier in the day, the Finnish lawmakers approved the proposal of applying for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, despite Russia's rhetoric. The historic development came as the 188 MPs voted in favour of the proposal while eight were voted against it. During the vote, three lawmakers were absent. This came merely days after Finland President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced that the Nordic country would apply right away for membership in NATO, citing the evolving security situation in Ukraine.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, while addressing Swedish Parliament on Tuesday, said, "Russia's grand offensive against Ukraine made it clear that Russia, once more, is ready to use its armed forces in nearby areas to reach its goals. The sum of these factors demonstrated that our traditional positioning was unsustainable." On May 15, Niinisto also held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, where the latter warned Helsinki to face military repercussions. Putin said that the relations between the two neighbours could be “negatively affected” if Finland follows through with its plans.

Image: AP