Finland, Sweden´s NATO bids not result of Russia´s Ukraine attack

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday denied that the NATO membership bids by Finland and Sweden were the result of Russia's actions in Ukraine and claimed that the two Nordic countries have been under the command of the Anglo Saxons for a long time.

"Finland and Sweden have been under the command of the Anglo Saxons for a long time now as the European Union and NATO have become closer," Lavrov told British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in an exclusive interview.

He also claimed that the Finnish and Swedish governments did not take into account the opinion of their people saying, “ Sweden and Finland are exercising their sovereign right as their government sees fit.”

“They also don´t really take into account the opinion of their people, in the same way that NATO ignores the opinion of lots of people in different countries when it´s carrying out its tasks,” said the Russian Foreign Minister.

Replying to a question whether is it not as a threat, Lavrov said, “ let´s see what ends up happening.”

“We have said many times , that when- and if- Sweden and Finland join NATO we want to see what will happen in reality, on the ground,” he added.

He also did not think that a failure of Russian diplomacy led Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership.

"I assure you no one will listen to Finland or Sweden," he said, adding that that the US has indicated it plans to increase its military presence in Europe.

Click BBC to hear the detail interview.