In the Finnish Mikkeli, which is located 140 km from the border with Russia, a NATO ground forces base could be created. The Iltalehti newspaper reported this on April 9.
According to the publication, the country’s president Alexander Stubb on Wednesday, April 10, will discuss the conflict in Ukraine and protecting the alliance from external factors. Thus, Stubb said that the country’s government is responsible not only for the safety of its citizens, but also for the “collective defense of NATO.”
The Norwegian Minister of Defense also informed the newspaper about the creation of headquarters in Finland. Bjorn Arild Gramm.
“The headquarters of NATO ground forces will be located in Finland. The commander of our defense forces recommended this,” Gram said.
Earlier, on March 13, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin stated that Russian troops and weapons systems will appear near the borders of Finland after joining NATO.
March 2, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov stated that many years of good neighborliness between Russia and Finland went to waste after Finland and Sweden joined NATO.
Sweden and Finland have applied to join NATO in May 2022. Their membership was delayed, but on April 4, 2023, Finland officially became the 31st member of the bloc. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that this accession will negatively affect relations between Moscow and Helsinki. The line of direct contact between the North Atlantic Alliance and Russian borders has more than doubled, which has significantly changed the situation in the Northern European region.
The Turkish parliament voted to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership on January 23, 2024. On March 7, 2024, the protocol on Sweden’s accession to the alliance officially came into force, and on March 11, the Swedish flag was raised at NATO headquarters.
2024-04-09 22:30:00
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