Eyes turn to 11,405 nuclear warheads in the possession of Moscow and Washington, with the increasing chances of using nuclear weapons after NATO expanded its borders with Russia by including Finland in its membership, and Moscow implemented its threats to deploy aircraft capable of carrying nuclear warheads near its neighbors from NATO countries.
Two experts in international relations, who spoke to “Sky News Arabia”, anticipate this great development, “the end of the time of neutrality”, with the accession of countries that were described as neutral to NATO. What increases the risks of a nuclear conflict with what is reported about US efforts to deploy nuclear weapons in Finland.
Mutual sharp threats
• After announcing the annexation of Finland, on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “President Putin embarked on the Russian special military operation in Ukraine with the clear aim of reducing the size of NATO…today he is getting the exact opposite.”
• On the same day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu responded by saying that Finland’s accession to NATO increases the risk of conflict.
• Practically, Shoigu announced that military aircraft in Belarus, Russia’s neighbor and ally, are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and Iskander missile systems have been transferred to Belarus, which can be used to carry conventional or nuclear missiles.
reply “with all force”
The Russian political analyst, Musallam Shaito, sees Finland’s accession to NATO and Sweden’s approach to that, as an indication of an “coming escalation”; Prejudice to Russian national security.
The borders of the Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania) that are members of NATO with Russia extend for a distance of 1,270 km, and the accession of Finland, which shares a border with Russia of 1,300 km, doubles the borders of the alliance with Russia, according to Shaito.
The Russian expert accuses Washington of seeking to spread nuclear weapons in Finland as it is very close to Russia, and says: “Russia must find ways to confront this expansion.”
In the event that the United States spreads nuclear weapons, as it did in Germany, Turkey, Greece and others more than 20 years ago, Russia will respond with full force, according to the Russian analyst.
On Thursday, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commented in press statements saying that NATO’s expansion towards Russia “creates threats to our security.”
Finland officially becomes a member of NATO
The end of the neutrality period
For his part, the military and strategic expert, Naji Malaeb, sees Finland’s accession to NATO and Sweden’s move to do so, as an indication of the end of the “time of neutrality.”
It is inferred from this that with the accession of Finland and the approach of Sweden, along with the Baltic states, NATO’s control over the Baltic Sea will be complete; What hinders the work of the Russian Northern Fleet.
Zakharova touched on this point by saying that Finland had “decided to say goodbye to its neutrality”.
On the other hand, Finland, which fears being subjected to a Russian invasion, believes that it is benefiting from NATO with the protection provided by Article V of its charter, which stipulates that if a member state is subjected to an armed attack, the rest of the members will consider it an attack against them, and they will help it.
How will Russia respond?
If NATO deploys nuclear weapons in Finland, Moscow will respond by deploying its nuclear weapons as well, according to Musallam Shaito.
For his part, Malaeb points out that this has already happened, citing the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia will supply Belarus with Iskander missiles.
He also points to Moscow’s announcement that Russian forces are training their Belarusian counterparts on these weapons, and says: “Russian strategic forces have been moved close to the border with Finland.”
What does Finland’s accession to NATO mean?
11405 nuclear warheads
The United States and Russia possess about 90 percent of the nuclear warheads in the world, which is enough to destroy the planet several times over.
Russia has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, estimated to have 5,977 compared to the United States’ 5,428.
