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Russia warns of nuclear deployment if Sweden and Finland join NATO
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LONDON, 15 April 2022, (TON): One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies warned NATO that if Sweden and Finland joined the US-led military alliance then Russia would have to bolster its defenses in the region, including by deploying nuclear weapons.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, and Sweden are considering joining the NATO alliance.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin said “Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks.”
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said “should Sweden and Finland join NATO then Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces in the Baltic Sea.”
Medvedev also explicitly raised the nuclear threat by saying that there could be no more talk of a nuclear free Baltic, where Russia has its Kaliningrad exclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.
Medvedev said “there can be no more talk of any nuclear–free status for the Baltic — the balance must be restored.”
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