Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that he had no issues with Finland and Sweden joining NATO but warned that an expansion of the alliance’s military infrastructure on their territory could provoke a response from Moscow.

Finland and Sweden’s bid to join NATO poses “no direct threat for us… but the expansion of military infrastructure to these territories will certainly provoke our response,” the 69-year-old said in televised remarks made during meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-led military alliance consisting of a select number of post-Soviet states.

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“What that [response] will be – we will see what threats are created for us. Problems are being created for no reason at all. We shall react accordingly,” the Russian president added.

Putin went on to accuse the United States of using NATO in an “aggressive” manner to aggravate an already complicated security situation both in Europe and in the world.

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The Russian president’s comments come a day after both the leaders of Finland and Sweden announced their intention to join NATO, signalling a historic shift in Nordic policy that is set change the European security landscape.

It also comes hours after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned that Western nations should have no illusions about Russia putting up with NATO expansion in Nordic territory.

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Since the turn of the year, Putin has repeatedly cited NATO’s eastward expansion as the reason for the troop build-up around Ukraine and the eventual invasion, though he later went on to claim that the the “special military operation” in Ukraine was to “de-nazify” the country.