Putin to Finland: NATO membership would ‘negatively’ affect relations
HELSINKI — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his Finnish counterpart Saturday that relations between the two neighbors could be “negatively affected” if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership.
The Kremlin’s press service said in a statement that Putin told Sauli Niinisto that Finland’s abandonment “of its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error since there are no threats to Finland’s security.”
The response came after Niinisto told Putin in a phone conversation that the militarily non-aligned Nordic country, which has a complex history with its huge eastern neighbor, “will decide to apply for NATO membership in the coming days.”
Niinisto’s office said in a statement that the Finnish head of state told Putin how starkly Finland’s security environment had changed after Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, and pointed to Russia’s demands for Finland to refrain from seeking membership of the 30-nation Western military alliance.
“The discussion (with Putin) was straightforward and unambiguous and was held without exaggeration. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” said Niinisto, Finland’s president since 2012 and one of a handful of Western leaders who has been in regular dialogue with the Russian president over the course of the past decade.
Niinisto pointed out that he had already told Putin at their first meeting in 2012 that “each independent nation would maximize its own security.”
Niinisto stressed that Finland, despite its likely future membership in NATO, wants to continue to deal with Russia bilaterally in “practical issues generated by the border neighborhood” and hopes to engage with Moscow “in a professional manner.”
Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member.
A formal announcement from Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin regarding Finland’s intention to apply for NATO membership is expected Sunday.
Also Sunday, neighboring Sweden is set to decide on its NATO stance at a meeting of the governing Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.