The Russian Foreign Ministry spoke about the situation in Sweden and Finland after joining NATO

Moscow, February 9, 2023, 20:00 — REGNUM After joining the North Atlantic Alliance, Sweden and Finland will not be able to independently determine their military policy. Washington and Brussels will make decisions for them. This was announced on February 9 at the site of the Valdai Discussion Club by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexander Grushko.

Read also: The United States is confident in the imminent entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO

The diplomat noted that these two states overnight abandoned the policy of military non-alignment, which for decades has given “the most reliable security guarantees for these countries, which were the backbone of their international authority“.

“In fact, these two countries are turning into front-line countries, whose policy in the field of military development will no longer be determined in Helsinki and Stockholm, but in Brussels and Washington.“, – said the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Previously on the topic: Sweden wants to join NATO with Finland

According to Grushko, in connection with this, the same schemes that existed during the Cold War will begin to operate again. Thus, the diplomat added, already now, in response to these cardinal changes in the north of Europe, it was announced that one of Russia’s responses would be the creation of a Karelian corps.

As reported IA REGNUMthe joint application for NATO membership by Sweden and Finland, filed in May 2022, has already been approved by 28 of the 30 member countries of the military alliance, except for Hungary and Turkey.

We add that this procedure slowed down in January of this year due to protests in Stockholm, which complicated relations with Turkey. Recently the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington is confident that Finland and Sweden will soon join NATO, as both countries have taken a number of important steps to resolve Turkey’s concerns regarding the expansion of the alliance.