Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO would not pose a "threat" in itself, but Moscow will respond to military deployments, according to "Agence France-Presse."
During a televised summit of the "Collective Security Treaty Organization," Putin noted that NATO's expansion to include Finland and Sweden "does not constitute a direct threat to us. However, the expansion of military infrastructure on the territories of these countries will certainly prompt us to respond."
The "Collective Security Treaty Organization," led by Moscow, is a military alliance that includes six countries that were part of the Soviet Union: Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
Putin remarked, "This is a problem that has been completely fabricated, as it serves the foreign policy interests of the United States," adding that NATO has become "an instrument of foreign policy for a single country."
He further stated, "All this exacerbates an already difficult international security environment."
Finland and Sweden are moving towards abandoning decades of military non-alignment to join NATO out of concerns over Russian aggression following Moscow's attack on Ukraine on February 24.
Finland announced its intention to join NATO yesterday, while Sweden declared it would apply to join the alliance, paving the way for both countries to submit a joint application for membership.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia.
