- Russian officials are changing their tune as Sweden and Finland announced they want to join NATO.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Finland and Sweden joining NATO would probably make "not much difference," Reuters reported.
- Just last week, Russia said it would have to take "retaliatory steps" if the countries were to join NATO.
Russian officials are making an abrupt about-face as Sweden and Finland announced they want to join NATO, with Russia's top diplomat now saying the moves are no big deal after Moscow repeatedly made dramatic threats over the Nordic countries possibly joining the alliance.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Finland and Sweden joining NATO would probably make "not much difference," Reuters reported.
"Finland and Sweden, as well as other neutral countries, have been participating in NATO military exercises for many years," Lavrov continued.
"NATO takes their territory into account when planning military advances to the East. So in this sense, there is probably not much difference. Let's see how their territory is used in practice in the North Atlantic alliance," Lavrov said, according to Reuters.
Lavrov's comments echoed remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin the day before.
"Russia has no problem with these states — none," Putin said on Monday to the leaders of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Moscow-led military alliance. "And so in this sense there is no immediate threat to Russia from an expansion of NATO to include these countries," Putin added, per Reuters.
This new tone comes on the heels of weeks of threats from the Kremlin, including military retaliation.
Last Thursday, for example, a Russian foreign ministry statement said, "Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to stop the threats to its national security arising in this regard."
Both Scandinavian countries broke from decades of neutrality by moving to join NATO. The historic shift in policy was prompted by Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
