PARIS, May 27. /TASS/. The neutral status gives Finland and Sweden greater security than their forthcoming entry into NATO will be able to provide, because this alliance poses a threat to Russia, China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, said on the Europe-1 radio station.
"This is a sovereign decision of these countries, but, the way I see it, objective observations indicate that NATO membership will not help strengthen their security in any way. A neutral stance allows them to better ensure their own security," he said.
While commenting on the situation in Ukraine, the Chinese ambassador urged one and all to give thought to the root causes of the conflict. He recalled that it was preceded by five waves of NATO’s expansion to the East. "This is not only China’s point of view. It is shared by many politicians in the West," the diplomat said. "For Russia, this also poses a military threat. It is a threat to its security. It is fundamentally wrong to aggravate or threaten the security of others while prohibiting them from retaliating or defending themselves," he added.
Lu said that China supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, but "the concerns of others in the field of security should also be taken into account." He believes that it is still possible to resolve the conflict through dialogue and consultations.
Sweden, Finland and NATO
Finnish and Swedish ambassadors to NATO, Klaus Korhonen and Axel Vernhoff, on May 18 handed their countries’ applications for NATO membership to the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Speaking at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow on May 16 Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would retaliate against the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructures in Finland and Sweden. At the same time, the Russian leader remarked that NATO’s admission of Finland and Sweden did not pose an immediate threat to Russia, because Moscow had no problems in relations with these countries.