Latvian Foreign Minister announced the transformation of the Baltic Sea into NATO territory

The accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO will strengthen the alliance and enhance security in the Baltic Sea region, the Estonian and Lithuanian Foreign Ministers believe.These countries are preparing to submit membership applications soon

The Baltic Sea is becoming a NATO territory, which will strengthen security in the water area, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with the Financial Times. “The Baltic Sea is becoming a NATO sea,” he said.

The same point of view was expressed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who noted that the accession to NATO of two new countries - Sweden and Finland "would give reliability" from a political point of view and would strengthen security in Northern Europe and the Baltics. He added that the alliance must reach a consensus so that "every inch of NATO territory is protected."

A similar position was taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Eva-Maria Liimets.

The Ambassador of Finland did not see any threats from RUSSIA Politics

Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin issued a joint statement on the morning of May 12 saying that the country should "immediately" apply to join NATO. In their opinion, this step should strengthen the security of both Finland and the entire alliance.

REUTERS sources among diplomats and officials say both countries' applications will be approved quickly, as the Russian military operation in Ukraine is forcing "a radical rethink of the European security system." The fact that the Swedish authorities are going to send an application to the alliance on May 16, the newspaper Expressen wrote. In turn, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekko Haavisto, in an interview with the Japanese television and radio company NHK, admitted that the country would send an application to NATO in the middle of next week, if this step is approved by parliament.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, after the speech of the Finnish Prime Minister and President, stated that Moscow would respond to Finland's entry into NATO, including measures of a military-technical nature. The department promised to "stop" threats to the country's security.

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In turn, Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, said in an interview with the British online magazine UnHerd that Sweden and Finland could become a target for Moscow if NATO decides to deploy its troops on their territories.