The Russian ambassador had harsh words for Finland on Saturday, warning that the country would retaliate against the new member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) if nuclear weapons were placed on Finnish soil.
Finland is one of the newest European countries to join the military alliance, officially being welcomed in April 2023. The Nordic nation was prompted to seek membership by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2023 and its threats of aggression. increased against other nations. Sweden is the last country admitted to NATO for this reason, joining on March 7.
Both nations announced that they were considering applying for membership in May 2022, just months after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia has long viewed NATO as an antagonistic force, given the influence of founding members such as the United States and the United Kingdom. NATO members are also required to provide military aid to other members in the event of an attack, meaning Russia risks a much larger conflict if it takes action against countries like Finland.
In a statement published on Saturday via an interview with TASS Russian News Agency, Pavel Kuznetsov, the Russian ambassador to Finland, said that the relationship between the two countries cannot return to the way it was before.
“Sooner or later, the relationship between the two neighbors will be restored. However, that will not happen as quickly as we would like,” the ambassador said. “Everything here will depend not so much on Helsinki, which has largely lost its independence in making foreign policy decisions, but rather on the general course of policy that Washington and Brussels pursue towards Russia. In any case, there will be no return to the previous format of cooperation now that Finland has joined the aggressive NATO military bloc.”
Kuznetsov also warned Finland that Russia would respond if NATO-backed nuclear weapons were placed on Finnish soil.
“Of course, we cannot but respond to potential decisions by the Finnish government in this area. “Specific steps will be developed based on the real threats these actions pose to our security,” he added. “The Finns cannot help but realize that such a provocation will not go unanswered by Russia. However, we hope that common sense prevails.” Newsweek contacted the Finnish government via email for comment on Saturday afternoon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Finland’s decision to become a NATO member last month, calling the neighboring country’s accession a “pointless step” that forced it to send weapons to the border during an interview with the Russian state television propagandist Dmitry Kiselyov, according to European Pravda.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo addressed the European Parliament in March, telling allies that Russia is “not invincible” and urging them to take up the “challenge” of supporting Ukraine and diminishing Moscow as a long-term threat. for Europe. “Russia continues to commit war crimes in Ukraine,” he said.
“Russia is evidently preparing for a long conflict with the West and represents a permanent and existential military threat to Europe. If, as a united Europe, we do not respond sufficiently to this challenge, the coming years will be filled with danger and the imminent threat of attack. We must commit our support to Ukraine now to win this war, while at the same time increasing our own defense capabilities,” Orpo concluded.
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