Russia will not leave Finland’s entry into NATO unanswered, which represents a new escalation in relations with the Alliance, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday.
“That forces us to take countermeasures to guarantee our security,” Russian Presidency spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, adding that Moscow will act based on how NATO “exploits Finnish territory” and whether it deploys its infrastructure near the border. Russian.
According to Peskov, the expansion of the Atlantic Alliance threatens the security and interests of Russia.
“Precisely, that’s how we perceive it,” he said. For this reason, Moscow will take the necessary measures to guarantee its security at the “tactical and strategic” level, he added. Regarding the nature of these measures, he replied that they will be “those considered necessary” by Moscow.
However, he assured that the case of Finland differs completely from Ukraine’s aspirations to join the Euro-Atlantic bloc.
“The situation with Finland is radically different from that with Ukraine,” Peskov said. In this regard, he added that “Finland has never been anti-Russia and there have been no disputes” with Helsinki.
The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that Finland has become a small member of the alliance that “does not decide anything.” According to Moscow, in exchange for this, Helsinki has definitively sacrificed its identity and all independence.
“The policy of military non-alignment followed by Helsinki so far has long served Finland’s national interests and has been one of the important factors in ensuring confidence in the Baltic Sea region and on the European continent as a whole.” , the statement specifies.
The note adds that NATO membership will inevitably have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations.
On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandr Grushkó said that Russia will respond to Finland’s NATO membership by strengthening its military potential on its western and northwestern border.
Grushkó added that “in case forces and means from other NATO countries are stationed in Finland” “additional steps” will be taken to ensure Russia’s military security.
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