Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in January this year | Photo: EFE/EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV
Russia announced on Wednesday (28) that it would take retaliatory measures in response to Sweden's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Following the approval of the Hungarian parliament, Sweden recently cleared the final hurdle for its membership in the Western military alliance.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday: “We will closely monitor what Sweden will do in the 'aggressive military bloc' and on this basis we will build our response with retaliatory measures of a militarytechnical nature and others”.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was not surprised by the Russian statements. He explained: “It is known that Russia does not like that Sweden or Finland are members of NATO, but we make our own decisions.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that Swedish membership would strengthen the transatlantic organization.
Sweden and Finland submitted their NATO candidates following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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