Bert Sundström on the Russian reactions: "Hard rhetoric"

SVT's Russia correspondent Bert Sundström is in St. Petersburg where he reports on the Russian reactions to Sweden's and Finland's relationship with NATO and a possible future NATO membership.

- It is quite harsh rhetoric from the Kremlin that this is hostile.

That it is Russian phobias that direct their hatred towards Russia and want to make life hard for the Russians, says Bert Sundström.

"Some gunshot"

The tightly controlled media reporting in the country about the Swedish and Finnish process has also been stepped up, Sundström further states.

"There are also some weapons riots, threats that if Finland increases its military presence along the border, Russia will have to respond and build some more military bases in Karelia and northwestern Russia," he said.

- They want to somehow make it clear to Finland in the first stage, but then also Sweden, that we behave in a way that Russia can not accept and therefore Russia must respond.