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NATO to increasingly involve Sweden in anti-Russian operations — MFA

Maria Zakharova noted that from the beginning it was absolutely clear to Moscow that Sweden's aspiration to join NATO would only lead to "greater tension in the Baltic Sea region and turn it from a zone of cooperation to a zone of potential confrontation"

MOSCOW, March 13. /TASS/. NATO forces will increasingly involve Sweden in anti-Russian operations, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has told a news briefing.

"The Swedish authorities cannot but realize that now the forces of this aggressive bloc will increasingly involve the territory of their country, which recently joined the North Atlantic Alliance, in military activities directed against our country, including intelligence," Zakharova said.

"As we have repeatedly said, everything that will happen on the ground will first receive our comprehensive assessment. Then on the basis of this assessment we will take appropriate action - retaliatory and proportionate. All this will be decided by experts," she added.

In addition, the diplomat noted that from the beginning it was absolutely clear to Moscow that Sweden's aspiration to join NATO would only lead to "greater tension in the Baltic Sea region and turn it [the region] from a zone of cooperation to a zone of potential confrontation."

Hungary's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership agreement on February 26. Hungary was the last NATO country after Turkey to have ratified the protocol on Sweden's accession to the alliance. Helsinki and Stockholm received a formal invitation to join NATO at the summit in Madrid in June 2022. On March 7, the protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO officially entered into force. The country became the bloc’s 32nd member.

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Foreign policy NATO Sweden Maria Zakharova

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