MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/. Sweden’s possible accession to the North Atlantic Alliance was taken into account in Russia’s military planning, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said on Friday.
"It is very important for NATO to fill geographical voids in the NATO defense system," he told TASS when asked to comment on the process of ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership bid by Turkey’s parliament. "Naturally, in our military planning we proceeded from assumption that Sweden will be admitted to the alliance and will be completely integrated into its military planning and in general."
"This was absolutely predictable," he said. "I’d refrain from commenting on NATO’s inner developments and relations between the allies. But, naturally, we were sure that sooner of later Sweden will finally join the alliance."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier submitted the document to Turkey’s parliament. Under Turkish law, it will be first considered by the parliamentary commission on foreign affairs and if approved, it will be put to the vote in parliament.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Sweden has fulfilled its commitments to Turkey and is now ready to join the North Atlantic Alliance.