Russia threatens to destroy the idea of a 'nuclear-free Baltic' if Sweden and Finland join NATO

• Sweden and Finland are expected to apply for NATO membership in the coming months.
• In response, Russian threatened to destroy the idea of a "nuclear-free Baltic."

Russia threatened to destroy the idea of a "nuclear-free Baltic" if Sweden and Finland end up joining NATO.

The Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, said in a statement on Telegram on Thursday that there will be "no more talk of a nuclear-free Baltic" if the two countries decide to join the military alliance.

"There can be no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic — the balance must be restored," he said.

"Until today, Russia has not taken such measures and was not going to. If our hand is forced, well ... take note it was not our suggestion," he added. He did not specify where this would happen or what measures could be implemented.

His comments come a day after Swedish and Finnish prime ministers, Magdalena Andersson and Sanna Marin, met in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Marin then told reporters Finland will decide whether to apply to join Nato within "weeks, not months" adding that she saw no reason to delay the decision, The Guardian reported.

Andersson did not give a time frame but the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported on Wednesday that she was aiming to apply for membership by June at the latest.

Finland and Sweden are militarily non-aligned but Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has prompted public support in the countries for joining NATO.

Alexander Stubb, Finland's former prime minister, told Insider's Sinéad Baker that he wasn't worried about Russia mounting a serious attack on his country because "Russia's military has been so weak in Ukraine already." He spoke to Insider before Russia made the threat of nuclear weapons.

Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told reporters Thursday that Medvedev's threat was confusing because Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltic region, according to Reuters.

"The current Russian threats look quite strange, when we know that, even without the present security situation, they keep the weapon 100 km from Lithuania's border," the minister said, as per Reuters.

"Nuclear weapons have always been kept in Kaliningrad ... the international community, the countries in the region, are perfectly aware of this ... They use it as a threat," he added.

Both Sweden and Finland have received public assurances from the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, according to The Washington Post.