Russia says that a nuclear-free Baltic region would no longer possible if Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
The Baltics, which includes the north-eastern European countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, are members of the EU and NATO. Finland and Sweden are members of the EU, but not NATO, and the latter shares a 830-mile border with Russia.
It's"nothing new," Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said, adding that Russia already has nuclear weapons in the Baltic region. "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.
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