Finland, Sweden Join NATO, Former Russian President: Complicates Security In Baltic, We Will Ensure Security

JAKARTA - The decision on the accession of Stockholm and Helsinki to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) complicates the security situation in the Baltic region, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday.

"It is clear that the decision to join Finland and Sweden with NATO does not strengthen the security of the region, but on the contrary, it complicates the security situation for everyone," Medvedev told reporters after a meeting focused on the security of Russia's northwestern border.

"Regarding the decision itself, we understand how this decision was made, what hysteria was involved, how the mindset of these two countries was influenced from across the ocean and from Brussels," he stressed.

"It is very clear that as a result of this decision, the well-known Paasikivi-Kekkonen doctrine, as far as Finland is concerned, as well as relations with neutral Sweden, will have to be revised," he said.

Medvedev further said that Russia would be able to protect its own interests and ensure its own security, if Finland and Sweden joined NATO.

"Russia's reaction to all these events will be as strong as necessary and no more than sufficient; I am confident that we will be able to protect our interests, the interests of our country, ensure the safety and security of our citizens by all necessary means," he said.

In addition, Medvedev noted, it is necessary to work on the development of "its own territory regardless of current events." Medvedev pointed out that he visited a checkpoint on the Russian-Finnish border on Thursday morning.

“The number of people crossing the border has decreased significantly, the number of cargo crossing the border has dropped dozens of times. But I'm sure, sooner or later, trading volume will recover, because the economy wins over all kinds of politics. speculation at last," Medvedev believes.

He refrained from making predictions about how quickly this would happen.

"In any case, we must spend this period facilitating the development of Karelia and our other territories adjacent to NATO territory as much as possible - I, of course, also mean the Kaliningrad Region. So this is how we will respond," he concluded.

The Paasikivi - Kekkonen Doctrine is a foreign policy course in postwar Finland, aimed at maintaining friendly and mutually beneficial relations with the Soviet Union, named after two postwar Finnish presidents - Juho Kusti Paasikivi and Urho Kekkonen.