Photo: MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/SPUTNIK / AFP / Getty Images
For: EFE Updated 15 May 2022, 9: 41 am EDT
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, warned his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö, on Sunday that the resignation of Neutrality on the part of the Nordic country to join NATO would be a “wrong” decision.
“Putin stressed that giving up the traditional policy of military neutrality would be wrong, since there is no threat to Finland’s security,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
He stressed that such a change in Helsinki’s foreign policy “may negatively influence Russian-Finnish relations, which for many years were characterized by a spirit of good neighborliness and cooperation between partners, and they had a mutually beneficial aspect”.
Before starting the 24 February “special military operation” in Ukraine, Putin had sued the OT AN end its enlargement to Eastern Europe and withdraw the military infrastructure of the countries that joined the bloc after 1997.
The Kremlin stressed today that the conversation had been “frank” and had focused on Finland’s plans to apply for NATO membership, an accession that could be formalized at the allied summit in June in Madrid, and on the situation in Ukraine.
“In particular, Putin shared his vision of the negotiating process between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which has been practically frozen by kyiv, which shows no interest in a serious dialogue and constructive”, states the official note.
Not as expected, Finland’s decision to join the Atlantic Alliance has ceased to sit like a bucket of cold water on Russia, which has already threatened Helsinki with “technical-military” measures.
At the same time, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandr Grushkó warned on Saturday about the possible deployment by NATO of nuclear weapons in Finland and Sweden, once both countries formally join NATO.
“It is enough to look at the map to understand the importance of the Allied enlargement for the security interests of the Russian Federation”, he stressed.
Admitted that, for the moment, the Atlantic Alliance has not modified its nuclear policy, but its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has affirmed that “nuclear weapons they can be located closer to the Russian border and the Polish leaders assured that they are ready to receive them”.
“If these declarations are confirmed in practice, of course, it will be necessary to react with the adoption of preventive measures that guarantee a sure dissuasion”, warned the diplomat.
Despite the current Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Grushkó considered it “impossible” to suspect hostile intentions on the part of Russia against Finland and Sweden, accusations that he related to the attempts to “demonize” Russia from the political and military point of view.
Moscow, which accuses Helsinki of threatening the security of Europe by opening a new allied flank in the north from the continent, cut off the supply of electricity to the neighboring country supposedly due to non-payment problems.
Finnish entry would double the border of the Russian Federation with the Atlantic Alliance, since Russia shares 1.80 kilometers from the border with the Scandinavian country.
Russia now borders the following members of the Western bloc: Poland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in addition to 41 kilometers of maritime border with the United States.
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