Russian Foreign Ministry accuses NATO of provocation

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has called NATO's military maneuvers provocative.

“Russia is monitoring the NATO Nordic Response 24 exercises, he said, calling the alliance's military maneuvers provocative, Kommersant reports.

"We believe that these exercises are demonstratively provocative in nature. Any exercises, especially in geographical proximity to the line of contact, increase the danger of military incidents," Grushko noted.

He assured that the Russian Federation had taken all necessary measures "from the point of view of ensuring the defense capability of the Russian Federation". The series of exercises in Norway, which Finland and Sweden are involved in, will last until the end of May-June.

Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO in May 2022 amid the Russian military operation. Finland became a member of the alliance on April 4, 2023. Sweden's acceptance was not supported by Türkiye and Hungary. As a result, Türkiye approved the country's accession to NATO on January 25, the Hungarian parliament - on February 26. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia would deploy additional weapons due to NATO expansion.