Russia to develop countermeasures against Sweden’s NATO membership

MOSCOW — Russia will closely monitor Sweden’s actions following the country’s accession to the NATO and develop its response accordingly, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

“We will closely monitor what Sweden will do within the aggressive military bloc, how it will implement its membership in practice … and develop our response policy based on this,” she added on Wednesday.

Zakharova said that Moscow will choose which measures it will take, including military-technical ones, to curb threats to Russia’s national security, Xinhua news agency reported.

She added that Sweden’s traditional non-alignment policy used to be an important factor in maintaining stability in Northern Europe, adding that the country’s NATO membership will further undermine its sovereignty.

Hungarian lawmakers on Monday approved a bill on Sweden’s bid to join NATO, clearing the way for Sweden’s accession to the military alliance.