Published on : 14/05/2022 – 13:41Modified : 14/05/2022 – 14:18
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday regarding the Nordic country’s imminent candidacy for NATO denounced by Moscow, Helsinki announced. “The conversation was direct and direct and passed without annoyance. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” said the Finnish head of state in a press release from the presidency. Still according to Helsinki, Sauli Niinistö told Vladimir Putin that Moscow’s demands at the end of 2021 for a freeze on NATO expansion and then the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February had “fundamentally” changed “the security environment of Finland”.