OREANDA-NEWS. Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov commented on the possible accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.

“Any NATO expansion worries Russia. NATO is not a development institution. NATO is an instrument of confrontation. The Alliance is so conceived, it is so designed, so it exists. This is an absolute obvious fact. Expansion poses a threat to us, ”said a Kremlin spokesman.

Earlier it was reported that the US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland admitted the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. Currently, both countries remain partner states of the alliance.

At a summit in Bucharest in April 2008, the North Atlantic Alliance adopted a political statement that "Ukraine and Georgia will eventually become NATO members." In February 2019, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved amendments to the country's constitution, securing the country's aspiration for the North Atlantic Alliance. Kiev received the status of a partner of an organization with advanced capabilities.

Currently, both countries remain NATO partner states.

“I think the five US administrations I have worked for have always said to Finland and Sweden, 'Anytime you want to talk to us about membership in the alliance, we are ready to do it,” said the deputy secretary of state.

According to her, if they wish to join NATO, Finland and Sweden will go through the same assessment procedure as any other country. However, Nuland emphasized, the "conversation" with them will be somewhat different.

“Obviously, they created stable democracies a long time ago, so this conversation will be a little different than with countries that are in a state of transition to a democratic system and are dealing with serious problems - corruption, difficult economic reforms, low stability of democracy "She explained.