In Moscow, where he was hosting a summit of CSTO leadersMay 15-16, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the expansion of NATO infrastructure will force Russia to respond, and he addressed the question of Sweden and Finland joining NATO specifically. “The expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance is a problem that, in my view, is being created in an absolutely artificial manner because it is being done in the foreign policy interests of the United States,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin transcript. “Generally, NATO is being used, in effect, as the foreign policy tool of a single country, and it is being done persistently, adroitly, and very aggressively. All of this is aggravating the already complex international security situation.”
Putin insisted that Russia has no problems with Sweden and Finland joining NATO because there is no direct threat with these countries joining the alliance. “But the expansion of its military infrastructure to these territories will certainly evoke a response on our part,” he said. “We will see what it will be like based on the threats that are created for us. But generally speaking, problems are being created from nothing. So, we will respond to it in a fitting manner.”
In his comments immediately preceding what he said on NATO, Putin highlighted that a priority task for the CSTO is the defending of the memory of victory in the Great Patriotic War and to counter any attempts to whitewash the Nazis. “This is extremely important particularly now, when monuments to the heroes and liberators are being barbarously demolished in a number of European countries, laying flowers at memorials is forbidden, and cynical attempts are being made to rewrite history, while praising murderers and traitors and insulting their victims, thus crossing out the feats of those who selflessly fought for Victory and won the war,” he said.
