STOCKHOLM, December 23. /TASS/. Russia is no threat either to Sweden or Finland but is ready to face any threats should they come from these countries, Russian Ambassador to Stockholm Sergey Belyayev said.

"Russia doesn’t threaten Finland and Sweden. Moreover, it doesn’t threaten the Baltic countries. We have neither intention nor any need to threaten anyone or attack anyone," he said in an interview with the Finnish Iltalehti newspaper.

However, in his words, Russia is ready to defend against any potential threats coming from these countries. Thus, Russia plans to deploy a military contingent on the border with Finland. "Russian troops will now be deployed to the border with Finland. Our General Staff will take into account how they would be able to stand up to a potential threat should it originate from Finland," the Russian diplomat said, adding that before Finland joined NATO, Russia had seen no need to station any forces other than border troops on the shared border.

Addressing a news conference after the BRICS summit in Kazan earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West of seeking to expand unfairly and warned that Russia would spare no effort to reverse the situation. He also said that it was unfair of the West "to lie in the face" and promise Russia to refrain from seeking to expand eastward.