© Sergei Karpukhin/ReutersRussian Iskander tactical missile system
Moscow will take adequate precautionary measures if NATO deploys nuclear forces and infrastructure closer to Russia's border, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Saturday.
"It will be necessary to respond ... by taking adequate precautionary measures that would ensure the viability of deterrence."
Moscow has no hostile intentions towards Finland and Sweden and does not see "real" reasons for those two countries to be joining the NATO alliance, Grushko added.
He also reiterated the Kremlin's earlier statement that
Moscow's response to NATO's possible expansion will depend on how close the alliance moves military assets towards Russia and what infrastructure it deploys.Finland's plan to apply for NATO membership, announced on Thursday, and the expectation that Sweden will follow, would bring about the expansion of the Western military alliance that Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to prevent.
Comment: According to Putin
it's about the infrastructure:
The possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO does not represent an immediate threat to Russia but the expansion of the alliance's military infrastructure will "certainly" prompt a response from Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
Speaking at the Collective Security Treaty Organization's summit in the Kremlin, Putin said that further NATO enlargement
"is a problem that has been created completely artificially, since it is being done in the foreign policy interests of the United States quite persistently, skillfully and very aggressively."
He added that the military bloc has been routinely used as a foreign policy instrument of one country - the US.
"Russia has no problems with these states, and in this sense, the (NATO) expansion through the accession of these countries does not create an immediate threat for Russia. But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory will certainly provoke our response. We will respond accordingly."
He said the nature of Moscow's response would depend on the particular threat posed by NATO.
Earlier on Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov claimed that by applying for membership of the alliance, Helsinki and Stockholm had chosen to "sacrifice common sense. They should have no illusions that we would simply tolerate it."
It doesn't matter what the premise is for NATO expansion - any imagined threat will do just fine.
Comment: According to Putin it's about the infrastructure: It doesn't matter what the premise is for NATO expansion - any imagined threat will do just fine.