Russia does not see benefits for Finland from joining NATO, since in the event of an escalation of military tensions between Moscow and the alliance, it is this country that will suffer first, Mikhail Ulyanov, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
As the diplomat noted, Moscow has traditionally viewed its neighbor as a “neutral and, in general, friendly country” with which it has good neighborly relations. However, Finland’s accession to NATO prompted the Russian Federation to take retaliatory steps – in particular, to decide to re-establish the Leningrad and Moscow military districts.
“That is, there will always be retaliatory measures. I just don’t understand how Finland benefits from this. We lived calmly, peacefully and unexpectedly found ourselves between Russia and NATO, as an integral part of the alliance, but they are neighbors with us, and God forbid, if there is any aggravation, then Finland itself will suffer first. I wouldn’t really like this, of course,” Ulyanov said.
The Russian permanent representative in Vienna also recalled that the United States and Finland signed an agreement on defense cooperation, within the framework of which the American military will have access to military facilities on the territory of its ally.
“This is already a serious challenge,” Ulyanov emphasized.
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2023-12-28 04:00:00
