One of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest associates warned NATO today that if Sweden and Finland join the US-led military alliance, Russia would have to strengthen its defenses in the region, including the development of nuclear weapons.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s vice-president of the Security Council, said that if Sweden and Finland join NATO, Russia should strengthen its land, naval, and air forces in the Baltic Sea to restore military balance.

Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, and Sweden are considering whether or not to join the NATO alliance. Finland will make a decision in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday.

Medvedev also explicitly raised the issue of the nuclear threat, saying that there could no longer be talks of a “denuclearised” Baltic – where Russia maintains the Russian Kaliningrad enclave between Poland and Lithuania.

“There can be no question of any denuclearised status in the Baltic – the balance must be restored,” said Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012. If they force us, then … remember that we were not the ones who proposed this,” he added.

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