More collateral damage to Putin from his march on the Ukraine…
Russia has expressed its displesure at this…
But it’s probably too late with any country not alined with Moscow having to watch Putin’s land grabs and brutally left behind…
The Russian Presiddnt has noone to blame but himself….
His moves wil leave a stronger NATO and Ukraine for the future…
And a hurting Russia economicly for at least a while….
Norway has been a NATO member since the 1949formation of the organization…
Finland and Sweden are poised to join NATO as early as this summer, a move that a US official said stemmed from Russia’s “massive strategic blunder” of invading Ukraine, according to a report published Monday.
Membership of the two Nordic countries in the Atlantic alliance was a “topic of conversation and multiple sessions” last week during meetings of NATO foreign ministers that were attended by representatives from Stockholm and Helsinki, the Times of London reported.
Finland is expected to submit an application in June, with Sweden following soon after, the report said.
The addition of Sweden and Finland would increase the alliance membership to 32 countries — and extend its border with Russia by hundreds of miles.
“How can this be anything but a massive strategic blunder for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin?” a senior American official told the publication….
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Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said it was time for her country to reconsider becoming a NATO member and urged the alliance to consider any potential application “thoroughly but quickly.”
“Russia is not the neighbor we thought it was,” Marin said earlier this month, adding: “I think we will have very careful discussions, but we are also not taking any more time than we have to in this process, because the situation is, of course, very severe.”
Stockholm is following Helsinki’s timetable and is conducting a security policy review that is expected to be concluded by the end of May. …
The Russian Point of view on the above….
Russia has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato, arguing the move would not bring stability to Europe.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation”.
It comes as US defence officials said Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “massive strategic blunder” which is likely to bring Nato enlargement.
US officials expect the Nordic neighbours to bid for membership of the alliance, potentially as early as June.
Washington is believed to support the move which would see the Western alliance grow to 32 members. US State Department officials said last week that discussions had taken place between Nato leaders and foreign ministers from Helsinki and Stockholm….
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And in February Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, warned of “military and political consequences” if the countries joined the bloc….
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Despite the threats, both countries have pushed ahead with their bids and stepped up defence spending.
Note…
The Russia Presiddnt will making a LOT of Western Defense Weapons and Equipment companies HUGE profits over the next few years….
