One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, Vladimir Putin, warned NATO today, Thursday (14/4) that, if Sweden and Finland join the US-led military alliance, then Russia will have to strengthen its defenses in the region, which includes developing nuclear weapons. Finland, which has a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, and Sweden are considering whether or not to join the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Shana Marin said yesterday, Wednesday.
[/P]Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, then Russia should strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea to restore military balance. Medvedev also explicitly raised the issue of the nuclear threat saying that there can no longer be talk of a "denuclearized" Baltic where Russia maintains the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad between Poland and Lithuania.
"There can no longer be talk of any denuclearized regime for the Baltic; the balance must be restored," said Medvedev, who served as Russia's president from 2008 to 2012. "To date, Russia has not taken and was not going to take such measures," Medvedev said. "If they oblige us, then note that it was not us who suggested this," he added.
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