Viktor Tatarintsev
"is expected to come today" at Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's
request, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
"We are an
independent state and we make our own security policy decisions independently
... We do not accept threats and I have summoned the Russian ambassador to ask
questions and get an explanation," Wallstrom told journalists.
She was reacting to
comments by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said Moscow would take "retaliatory measures" if Sweden were to
join NATO.
"Swedish
membership in NATO would have politico-military and foreign policy
consequences, and would require retaliatory measures from Russia ," she said during a weekly briefing
in Moscow on
Thursday.
"Defence and
national security strategy is up to each sovereign state to decide. However, we
still consider Sweden 's
policy of non-participation in military blocs to be an important factor for the
stability of northern Europe ," she said.
The country is
however part of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and has contributed
troops to its operations in Afghanistan ,
for example.
Swedish public opinion
has long been opposed to NATO membership, though recent polls have shown an
increase in support amid concerns over Russia 's recent military
resurgence.
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