'Era of security' at end in Nordic region, Russia says

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Finland's official accession into NATO and Sweden's continued efforts to join the alliance have ended the "era of security" in the Nordic region, Russia said early Wednesday

NATO's expansion "has ended this era, completely closed any talk about the fact that this region is full of security. These are new realities," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Sputnik radio.

Zakharova said Washington, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in February, has been engaging in the "propaganda of everything that destroyed European security."

"As a matter of fact, this has now happened to northern Europe," Zakharova said, further underlining that it was the neutral status of the Nordic countries that had provided a "security halo" in the region for a long time.

Zakharova also said the US' contacts with Europe on security issues were based on "purely personal, pragmatic and opportunistic interests" that are not related to the security of Europe itself.

"When the conversation between the representatives of the US and the Europeans about security issues begins, there will be trouble," Zakharova added.

Finland officially joined NATO on Tuesday, with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto handing the signed accession treaty to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during an official ceremony in Brussels.

Meanwhile, Sweden's bid to join the alliance depends on it fulfilling a series of promises it made to Türkiye last year to improve its anti-terrorism laws, among other steps. Hungary also has yet to ratify Sweden's bid to become a NATO ally.