“The nuclear status of the Baltic will be a thing of the past, the grouping of the ground forces and the Navy in the northern directions will be seriously increased.” This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Council of Security of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, answering the question “Arguments and Facts”, which is more dangerous for Russia – Ukraine in NATO or Finland with Sweden?
“The answer is obvious. Ukraine in NATO is much more dangerous for our country. And this is due to what President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoke about. The presence of unresolved territorial disputes, as well as a different understanding of the status of regions. For us, Crimea is part of Russia. And this is forever. Any attempt to encroach on the Crimea is the declaration of war to our country. And if this is done by the country included in NATO – this is a conflict with the entire North Atlantic Alliance. The Third World War. Total disaster.
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The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO does not threaten us with anything especially new. These countries were previously with Russia in relations that can be called quite respectful and mutually friendly. Although in the past, of course, different things happened. Now we have no and do not have territorial disputes and even reasons for them with these countries. If they feel better and calmer, entering the alliance, – to health. NATO and so next to our country, without Sweden and Finland, ”Medvedev noted.
The deputy chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian Federation emphasized that of course, Russia will be ready for retaliatory steps: “In the event of such an expansion of NATO, the length of its land borders with Russia will more than double. We will have to strengthen these borders. The bisilline status of the Baltic states will be the past, it will be seriously The grouping of the ground forces and the Navy in the northern directions increase. Nobody is delighted with this, and the citizens of the two candidates in NATO are also. Not the best prospect – to have our “Iskanders”, hypersonic missiles, warships at the doorstep of their own home. with nuclear weapons. Few are pleased that the taxes paid will now not go to improvement and humanitarian programs, but for defense goals under the auspices of NATO. This is a bottomless breakthrough. In addition, as the experience of many decades shows, the escalation of tension in relations with Russia is a meaningless and expensive matter.
Let me give even an improper, but historical parallel. The Finns remember how much they at one time cost the construction of fortifications on the Mannerheim line and what was its fate as a result. In the Leningrad Region, near Vyborg, on the wreckage of these sizes, “millionaires” (the name in terms of costs in pre-war Finnish brands) there are still monuments with inscriptions in two languages: “You who have not survived the deadline that has not been released on the battlefield of the fierce And no one needs a war … “.