The United States and Finland signed a defense cooperation agreement on Monday, enhancing military collaboration between the two countries by obligating Helsinki to open its military bases to U.S. forces and allowing the two militaries to conduct joint training, among other measures.

The United States signed a defense agreement with Sweden earlier in December, and will ink a similar pact with Denmark later this week, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The defense agreements the United States signed separately with Finland and Sweden recently will give Washington control over Northern Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"Now, Washington will essentially have control over the region. NATO is engaged in the rapid military development of the territories of the two countries, despite the fact that Sweden has not even joined the alliance yet," Zakharova said.

The United States will now receive maximum access to military facilities in Finland and Sweden, and will be able to use these for its own purposes, Zakharova noted.

"We would like to warn that we will take all necessary measures to protect our national security interests," she said.

(Cover: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R), with Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (C) and Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen in the Treaty Room of the State Department in Washington, D.C., December 18, 2023. /CFP)