Finland and Sweden joining NATO won’t make a difference

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO would not likely make a “big difference”, because the two countries have long participated in the alliance’s military exercises.

“Finland and Sweden, as well as other neutral countries, have been participating in NATO military exercises for years,” he said.

He pointed out that “their territories become at the expense of NATO, when it plans military expansions to the east. Thus, their accession probably won’t make much difference,” he said, adding, “We will see how their territories are used in NATO exercises.”