Russia increases pressure on Finland over possible NATO membership

Russia wants “international legal security guarantees” that rule out “NATO’s further movement eastward”, said President Vladimir Putin in a statement released by the Kremlin.

The statement stressed “the importance of immediately starting talks with the United States and NATO”. Russia’s change in tone compared to previous years is putting increasing pressure on Finland’s foreign and security policy.

The statement comes after Putin held a phone call with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö about the Ukraine crisis on Tuesday.

While Russia has always opposed NATO members bordering its territory, it has also said that it is up to Finland to decide whether it wants to join the military alliance and that Russia would respect the outcome.

Now, it appears that the Kremlin is trying to turn back the clocks and re-establish spheres of influence in Europe.

Finland’s foreign and security policy alignments were last stated in the government’s defence report released on 9 September this year. According to the report, “maintaining national room for manoeuvre and freedom of choice are also integral parts of Finland’s foreign, security and defence policy. This retains the option of joining a military alliance and applying for NATO membership”.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)