A NATO Lake? Not so Fast: Why Russia Won't Cede Baltic Sea Positions
Some Western leaders have claimed the Baltic Sea could become a "NATO lake" after Finland and Sweden's admission to the transatlantic alliance. The move creates grave security risks, Mikael Valtersson, former officer of Swedish Armed Forces, told Sputnik. | NATO is on a slippery slope towards further escalation after absorbing Finland and Sweden as Russia won't stand by as the alliance tries to block its access to the Baltic Sea.
That is according to Mikael Valtersson, former officer of Swedish Armed Forces, and former defense politician and chief of staff with Sweden Democrats.
💬 "NATO's main goals in the Baltic Sea are to keep the sea and air lines open to Finland and the Baltic states in case of a conflict with Russia," Valtersson told Sputnik. "Another important goal to do this is to deny Russian access to the Baltic Sea in case of conflict. This will make the situation for the Russian Kaliningrad enclave very difficult."
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin explained that previously Russia and Finland had no quarrel, however the accession of the Nordic country to NATO changed the game.
💬 "There were no problems, but now [with Finland's accession to NATO] there will be problems," the Russian president said.