Decrying what he called an "aggressive propaganda campaign" by the media, Russian Ambassador to Sweden Viktor Tatarintsev stressed that "Sweden is not a target for our armed troops", according to The Independent.
However, the ambassador added, "The country that joins Nato needs to be aware of the risks it is exposing itself to."
With a recent surge of Swedish support for joining Nato, the ambassador said: "If it happens, there will be counter measures.
"Putin pointed out that there will be consequences, that Russia will have to resort to a response of the military kind and re-orientate our troops and missiles,” said Tatarintsev.
Despite growing public support in Sweden for joining NATO, Russia is confident that the country will not opt to join the Western military organisation.
"I don't think it will become relevant in the near future," said Tatarintsev
As UNIAN reported earlier, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine-NATO joint military exercises may jeopardize the process of reaching peace in eastern Ukraine.
