Russia warned today to Finland with response measures, including technical-military measures, following the historic decision of the leaders of that country to support the entry into the OTANwhich endangers, according to Moscow, stability and security in northern Europe.
“Russia will be forced to adopt both military-technical and other response measures in order to counteract the threats that have arisen for its national security”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Moscow considers that the announcement made by the Finnish leaders represents a “radical change in the foreign policy of that country.”
“The goal of OTAN (…) it is clear: continue its expansion towards the borders of Russiacreate a new flank of military threat for our country”, denounce the note.
Russia he wonders “what for? Finland will turn its territory into the border of military antagonism with the Russian Federation.”
“In Helsinki they must take into account the responsibility and the consequences of such a step. The income of Finland in NATO It will cause serious damage to bilateral relations and the maintenance of stability and security in the northern European region.” said.
The official note recalls that for many years the Scandinavian country’s military non-alignment served as the basis for cooperation between the two countries, “in which the role of the military factor was reduced to zero.”
And he regrets that neither Russia’s promises regarding the absence of “any hostile intent” nor the long history of good neighborly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation “convinced Helsinki regarding the advantages of maintaining the military non-alignment policy.”
At the same time, Foreign Affairs accused Finland that, if it entered the Atlantic Alliance, it would violate the 1947 Paris Peace Agreement, which prevents entry into alliances or coalitions once morest the other country.
It would also violate the 1992 Russo-Finnish Agreement, which stipulates that both countries will refrain from threatening or using force once morest the territorial integrity or political independence of the other, nor will they allow the use of their territory for military aggression once morest the other. part.
“Finland must apply to join NATO without delay. We hope that the steps at the national level still necessary to make this decision will be taken quickly in the coming days”, the president said today, Sauli Niinistö, and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland in a joint statement.
The Nordic country had benefited for decades from maintaining a privileged relationship with the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation, but the current Russian “special military operation” in Ukraine precipitated events.
Precisely before beginning its military intervention in Ukraine, Russia had demanded that the OTAN security guarantees that it would not accept into its fold any former Soviet republics and that it would withdraw its military infrastructure from countries that joined following 1997.
In particular, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was referring to Georgia and Ukraine, a country that has given up joining the Atlantic Alliance, but aspires to join the European Union.
