Russian Ambassador to Sweden Tatarintsev called NATO expansion the biggest threat to Russia
Viktor Tatarintsev. Photo: Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in Sweden
Russian Ambassador to Sweden Viktor Tatarintsev called NATO expansion the biggest threat to Russia. He stated this in an interview published in the newspaper Aftonbladet.
“If the US and NATO had not provoked and aggravated the situation, we would not have objected to Sweden joining NATO. We would respect such decision of Sweden. But now the security situation in this part of Europe has changed dramatically. NATO expansion is the biggest threat to Russia,” the Russian ambassador said.
He also answered the question whether the kingdom should decide on its own whether to join NATO or not. According to the ambassador, Russia does not tell Sweden about this anyway. “We say this to NATO and the US. This is not a question of bilateral relations only between Russia and Sweden. This is a fundamental and comprehensive issue,” Tatarintsev said.
Earlier, Sweden's Secretary of State Karin Wallensten said that the situation around Ukraine did not affect the country's position regarding NATO membership. “We want to be a good, strong NATO partner, but we are not going to join,” she said. Before that, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde spoke about the absence of Stockholm's plans to join NATO.
Sweden officially adheres to the principle of neutrality in wartime and non-alignment with military blocs in peacetime. The last time the country was at war with neighboring Norway was in 1814.
