New Delhi: Russia has warned Monday against further expansion of NATO as Finland and Sweden consider joining it.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the alliance remained “a tool of confrontation”.
Reports quoted Peskov as saying Monday, “We have repeatedly said that the alliance itself is more of a tool for confrontation. This is not an alliance that provides peace and stability, and further expansion of the alliance, of course, will not lead to more stability on the European continent.”
Peskov said last week that Russia would have to “rebalance the situation” with its own measures if Finland and Sweden joined the western alliance. “We have to make our western flank more sophisticated in terms of ensuring our security,” Peskov told Britain’s Sky News.
A report published in The Times said the countries could join NATO as early as this summer.
Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia and its Prime Minister Sanna Marin expected to make a decision midsummer on whether to apply as a member, BBC reported. It is one of the six countries in Europe that has kept away from NATO. Sweden too has a history of neutrality in world politics.
NATO officials recently told CNN that both countries were “more serious” about joining the western alliance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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