Sweden, Finland NATO bid no threat to Russia but may 'trigger response': Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Artyom Zhoga, father of commander of the Sparta Battalion pro-Russian military unit Vladimir Zhoga who was killed in a conflict in Ukraine, following the parade on Victory Day, which marks the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia May 9, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS
President Vladimir Putin said Monday that while Russia does not see Finland and Sweden's decision to join NATO as a threat, deployment of military infrastructure there may trigger a response from Moscow.
The expansion of NATO to Sweden and Finland poses "no direct threat for us... but the expansion of military infrastructure to these territories will certainly provoke our response," Putin said during a televised summit meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Moscow-led military alliance.