As the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled, the Russian side has repeatedly warned that “it will be forced to take retaliatory measures, both military-technical and otherwise, in order to put an end to threats to our national security arising from Finland’s entry into NATO. “However, Moscow’s concrete steps will depend on how this country acts within the North Atlantic Alliance, whether it deploys NATO military infrastructure and strikes weapon systems on its territory.
Russian diplomats drew attention to the fact that Finland’s line of military non-alignment was its conscious choice after the end of World War II, that it was in its national interest and that it was also the one of the important factors in ensuring confidence in the Baltic Sea region. “After the most devastating military conflict in the history of mankind, in which this country acted as an ally of Nazi Germany, the Finnish leaders showed wisdom in basing their national policy on cooperation pragmatic and mutually beneficial with neighbors based on the principle of non-participation in military alliances,” the Russian ministry said in the foreign policy statement.
“By joining NATO, Finland has finally renounced its identity and any form of independence, which has distinguished it in international affairs for decades,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. According to Moscow, Finland has become one of the non-decisive member countries of the alliance.
In Smolenskaya Square, they expressed their confidence that this step, taken by Helsinki without taking into account the opinion of the country’s population, will be judged by history. “Finland’s NATO membership can only have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish bilateral relations,” the Foreign Ministry concluded.
