Sweden and Finland dragged into Russia's stand-off with Nato

Moscow warns off 'serious consequences' if the two countries join the alliance

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, centre, inspects military exercises in Sweden in October. AFP

Sweden and Finland found themselves dragged into Russia’s stand-off with Nato after Moscow threatened retaliation if the two Nordic nations became full members of the US-led alliance.

Russia said there would be “serious military and political consequences” if the two EU countries — which carry out training exercises with Nato — joined it.

It is the latest in a series of demands issued by Moscow as Western leaders try to persuade it to step back from its military build-up on Ukraine’s border.

Although keeping Ukraine out of Nato is Russia’s main priority, its proposed new security treaty with the West would also prevent any enlargement into the Nordic nations which are outside its ex-Soviet sphere of influence.

“Russia regards the traditional policy of non-participation in military alliances pursued by Sweden and Finland as an important factor in ensuring stability in northern Europe,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

While the two countries are officially non-aligned and neither is currently seeking Nato membership, both have rejected Russia’s demand that the Kremlin should have a veto on the issue.

Ann Linde, Sweden’s foreign minister, said Russia’s desired treaty would “reduce the opportunities to make independent political choices”.

“We must have a rules-based world order, where we have international law and each country has the right to make its own security policy choice,” she said. Finland said it would keep its options open.

Russia and the US will hold high-stakes talks in early January after weeks of tensions linked to Moscow’s troop movements near Ukraine.

The talks will take place in Geneva, where US President Joe Biden met Russia’s Vladimir Putin for a tense summit in June, Moscow confirmed on Tuesday.

The Kremlin denies intending to invade Ukraine, but the West has warned of heavy economic sanctions if it breaches its neighbour’s territory.

Moscow made the unusual move of publishing draft treaties on a potential security deal — although Washington immediately signalled that some of Russia’s demands were unacceptable.

These included a ban on any future expansion of Nato, with only Ukraine mentioned by name, but others such as Finland and Sweden also covered.

Sweden and Finland are officially known as “enhanced opportunities partners” to Nato, and benefit from regular consultations, joint exercises and information-sharing.

Finland this month ordered $11 billion worth of F-35 fighters from US warplane manufacturer Lockheed Martin. President Sauli Niinisto told his counterpart Mr Biden that he appreciated the door to Nato being kept open.

Last year, Swedish MPs last year voted in favour of keeping potential Nato membership as an option, although Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said last month that Stockholm would maintain its non-aligned stance.

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited the two countries in October and praised their co-operation with the alliance in the face of Russia’s “aggressive posturing and its military build-up”.

Francois Heisbourg, a European affairs expert at the International Institute for Security Studies, said Moscow’s move could backfire if it pushed the two nations closer to joining Nato.

“Before this warning, there was no serious prospect of Finland and Sweden joining Nato,” he said. “Now Russian pressure is making it difficult to pursue this policy.”