MFA: Russia warns NATO

Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova has said that NATO's Nordic Response 2024 military exercises may escalate the situation and Moscow will certainly respond.

“The latest militaristic actions of the Norwegian authorities are fraught with an additional escalation of tension in the Euro-Arctic region. Moreover, they damage the security of Norway itself, which actually voluntarily renounces its own independence and sovereignty,” Zakharova noted, Gazeta.ru reports.

The exercises will be held in Finland, Norway and Sweden from March 4 to 15, 2024.

NATO Assistant Chief of Military Staff Gunnar Brügner said on February 7 that the NATO Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises are not a signal that NATO is preparing for a possible conflict with the Russian Federation.