U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday (April 14) the expansion of NATO would only promote stability in Europe.
"We would not be concerned that the expansion of a defensive alliance would do anything other than promote stability on the European continent," Price said during a daily news briefing.
He was responding to a question of whether the United States would be concerned that Russia could escalate the confrontation over Ukraine if Sweden and Finland join the NATO alliance.
"NATO is a defensive Alliance that is there to defend and to fortify and NATO will not be a threat to anyone that is not attacking NATO," added Price at the briefing.
Also on Thursday, the Kremlin said it will consider a range of measures to bolster Russia's security if Finland or Sweden join the group.
