Russia Warns of Consequences if Sweden and Finland Join NATO

For decades, Sweden and Finland resisted joining the western alliance NATO. Finland, which shares the longest EU border with Russia, specifically avoided antagonizing its much bigger neighbor throughout the Cold War. But now, that calculus seems to be shifting for the Scandinavian countries, as Russia's attack on Ukraine enters its eighth week. Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin says a decision will be made on whether her country will join NATO in the coming weeks. She made the remarks while standing alongside Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Adersson, who said Sweden was re-examining its long held position to stay out of NATO's security umbrella. Russia for its part, has given stern warnings about how it would respond to such an expansion, including threats to deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles to its European enclave.

Guests:

Karsten Friis
Head of Security and Defence Group, Norwegian Inst of Int´l Affairs

Talha Kose
Associate Professor at Ibn Haldun University