MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. The entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO will entail colossal risks to regional security and the security of these countries themselves, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told a discussion at the Valdai International Club focused on the militarization of the Baltic region.

"It is no coincidence that they are getting membership in the alliance, bypassing the mandatory stage for all candidates to implement the action plan for membership. So, from the point of view of military readiness of these countries, the compatibility of armed forces, their readiness to accept foreign military forces on their soil, all this was prepared, and joining the alliance is kind of a formal step," Grushko explained.

"However, and one should not underestimate this since they will be officially included in the alliance’s defense plans, this is teeming with colossal risks to regional security and major risks to these countries themselves," the senior diplomat clarified.

He noted that the decision by Stockholm and Helsinki to join NATO marked a radical change in their foreign policy doctrine. However, the process of Sweden and Finland joining the US-led military bloc had been in progress for a long time, this is partly because the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began to dominate the European Union as far as the military-political sphere is concerned. NATO eventually quashed the autonomy of the European Union on the military-political track, the diplomat stressed.