Andrei Rudakov Bloomberg | Getty Images Russia says a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer be possible if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, citing additional nuclear developments in Europe. “There can be no talk of a nuclear-free regime in the Baltics anymore – the balance must be restored,” Dmitry Medvedev, former chairman and vice-chairman of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on his official Telegram channel on Thursday. The comments come a day after Finland and Sweden said their decision on whether to apply for NATO membership would be made within a few weeks. The leaders of the countries said that their security assessments changed dramatically after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February. “If Finland and Sweden actually join NATO, that would give Moscow” more officially registered opponents, “Medvedev added. He claimed that NATO planned to accept the two Nordic states with “minimal bureaucratic procedures”. Russia’s response should be taken “without emotion, with a cold head,” he added. The Baltic, which includes the countries of Northeastern Europe, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are members of the EU and NATO. Finland and Sweden are members of the EU, but not NATO, and the latter has an 830-mile border with Russia. Lithuania, which borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, rejected Medvedev’s comments on Thursday. “It’s nothing new,” said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, adding that Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltic region. “The current Russian threats seem rather strange when we know that, even without the current security situation, they are holding the weapon 100 kilometers from the Lithuanian border,” the minister was quoted as saying by Lithuania’s BNS. “Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad … the international community, the countries of the region, are fully aware of this … They are using it as a threat,” he added. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sparked a turnaround in Finnish public opinion about joining the 30-member military alliance, which it avoided from World War II in a bid to maintain neutrality. Moscow has warned in the past of serious consequences and instability for the Scandinavians if Finland joins. If Finland joined the alliance, Sweden would probably follow suit. Finland and Sweden, as well as Ukraine, are already NATO “Improved Opportunities Partners”, the closest form of partnership with the alliance, and are participating in military exercises with NATO countries.
