Russia has warned about the increased risks of a military clash with NATO. Is it worth being afraid of?

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko commented on the state of relations between Moscow and NATO, as well as Finland's official accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. He spoke about this in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.

Forecast for the future

Grushko warned about the increased risks of a military clash between Russia and NATO. According to the deputy head of the Russian department, this happened as a result of Finland's accession to the alliance.

As an example, the diplomat cited the situation in the Baltic region, which, as a result of the joint efforts of NATO member countries, has become a "zone of military rivalry." Moscow sought to stabilize the situation, but the North Atlantic Alliance did not consider any of its proposals.

The situation in the Baltic Sea

The representative of the Russian ministry also answered the question whether it is possible to assume that Russia has lost the Baltic Sea from a geopolitical point of view. He stressed that his European colleagues like to use this figure of speech. "They like to talk about the NATO lake or the NATO Sea," the diplomat said.

Grushko noted that Russia has a sufficient number of military and other means to ensure that the Baltic Sea does not become "NATO".

Finland in NATO

At a press conference in Finland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke about the alliance's relations with Russia. He stressed that the end of Moscow's special operation in Ukraine will not help restore the dialogue to the previous level. Stoltenberg also added that the bloc is ready to increase military assistance to Ukraine and escalate the conflict for the sake of Kiev's victory over Moscow.

Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022 together with Sweden. Turkey opposed their joining the alliance, but on April 1, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan approved the ratification of the Finnish application. Sweden's accession to NATO was complicated after the action to burn a copy of the Koran, held in Stockholm

At the same time, Stoltenberg assured that NATO would not deploy troops in Finland without a request from it. "It will be a Finnish decision," he said.

On April 4, Finland officially became a member of NATO. The ceremony of the country's official accession to the alliance was attended by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who accepted the protocols on the accession of the state ratified by other members of the alliance.

Russia's position

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that Finland's accession to NATO poses an additional threat to Russia. In his opinion, this event "does not contribute to the strengthening of stability, security and predictability on the European continent."

The Kremlin's official representative added that Finland's membership in NATO is another escalation of international tension, as well as an encroachment on Russia's security and interests. According to him, the Russian military will promptly inform about the response to Helsinki joining the bloc.