White House Press Secretary Jen Psakia during a briefing at the White House. File photoWASHINGTON, May 12NATO is defensive in nature and has no aggressive intentions towards Russia, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, commenting on Moscow's reaction to the possibility of Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. Finland's president and head of government said in a joint statement on Thursday that the country should apply to join NATO without delay. According to media reports, Finland, like Sweden, plans to apply to the North Atlantic Alliance on Monday, May 16.Polyansky commented on the desire of Sweden and Finland to join NATO «This is a defensive alliance, not an offensive one. Finland and Sweden are longtime security partners of the US and NATO, they are successful democracies, they have worked closely with NATO for many years. Obviously, no aggressive intentions on the part of NATO, the USA, Finland and Sweden in relation to Russia does not exist,» Psaki said during a regular briefing. She stressed that the US administration remains committed to the NATO «open door» principle and supports the desire of any country to join this alliance. Finland and Sweden started talking about the possibility of abandoning long-term neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that the alliance would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to quickly join. NATO expects these countries to make their own decisions about possible membership in the coming «months and weeks,» US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he does not consider the possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia.
