Nuclear weapons in Baltic States raises danger, not security: Kremlin

MOSCOW, July 8: Deploying nuclear weapons in the Baltic states will not bring security to the region, and Russia will take countermeasures against countries that lift bans on such actions to protect its interests, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Lithuanian media reported that the country's parliament was considering lifting the constitutional ban on hosting nuclear weapons. Peskov told a briefing that Russia was aware of Finland's similar move and that the Baltic states would likely follow suit.

"On the contrary, this will significantly raise the level of danger for them, because countermeasures will be taken against such countries to ensure our interests," Peskov noted.

On July 1, legislative amendments lifting the ban on the import and storage of nuclear weapons came into force in Finland. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the Finnish authorities' decision to lift the ban posed real threats to Russia's national security. (UNI)