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Silke Bigalke, Moscow
Finland would like to join NATO, Sweden will probably follow soon, and this is no longer a surprise for Moscow either. After all, the Kremlin has been warning the two Nordic countries against this step for weeks, actually for years. Now that it is imminent, the reactions from Moscow sound more routine than shrill. Neither Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov nor Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin have so far personally commented on the news from Helsinki, which means nothing other than a defeat for the Kremlin. Putin only discussed the issue within his Security Council on Friday.