Interfax: Moscow worried about intensified NATO activity in north Baltic region

MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – The stepped-up debate on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO may have negative implications for the north Baltic region, which has been traditionally calm from the military-political point of view, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

“Amid the NATO infrastructure build-up in a number of countries bordering on Russia and the stepped-up debate on the accession of Sweden and Finland to the bloc, the danger of negative alterations in the north Baltic region, which has traditionally had low levels of military-political tensions, has been emphasized,” the ministry website reported after a regional conference of heads of Russian diplomatic missions to Denmark, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia chaired by First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov.

The diplomats discussed prospects for relations with regional countries. “For instance, they noted the need for a constructive dialogue and business cooperation with partners based on respect for each other’s interests and devoid of artificial limits and threats of sanctions. Successful advancement of cooperation and mutually advantageous projects in keynote areas, such as energy, transport, construction and some others, as well as inter-regional and border relations cannot be a hostage of the political situation,” the ministry said.

“There is an obvious need for further multilateral efforts towards the sustainable and dynamic development of the north Baltic region, including efficient interaction in the existent regional formats – the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the Arctic Council and the Northern Dimension,” the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out.

The standing of Russian-speaking residents in the Baltic republic was another item on the agenda.