“Every action has a reaction, and as a result, it is no longer possible to look at the sharp deterioration in the security situation that has occurred in recent years without specific measures on our part,” Ryabkov told reporters, according to the news agency. Sputnik, adding that “further (NATO) expansion will be met with an adequate countervailing response from Russia.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has welcomed Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, noting that it will “increase the alliance’s presence in the far north,” which Moscow sees as NATO’s signal for confrontation.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned, in on several occasions that further NATO expansion will not give Europe more security, and Russia has announced unprecedented activity for the alliance along its western borders in recent years.