Sweden summons Russian envoy over ‘retaliation’ remark

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s Foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador after Moscow’s diplomatic mission to Stockholm posted on its website that the Scandinavian country would become a “legitimate target for Russia’s retaliatory measures” if it joins NATO. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on Wednesday decried what he called an ”obvious attempt at influence.” Billström told Swedish news agency TT that the country’s security policy is determined by its government and no one else. In May, Sweden and neighboring Finland angered Moscow after jointly applying for NATO membership, abandoning decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.