Finland’s NATO Joining Makes Russia Fume

Moscow: After Finland formally joined the Nato military alliance on Tuesday, Russia said that it will have to take countermeasures concerning the Nordic country’s accession to the security alliance.

Russian news agency Tass reported quoting Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov,”The Kremlin believes that this is yet another escalation and that NATO’s expansion is posing a threat to our security and the interests of the Russian Federation. We will take countermeasures to ensure our security both tactically and strategically.”

“We will closely monitor developments in Finland and see how the North Atlantic bloc will use Finnish territory in terms of the deployment of weapons, systems, and infrastructure close to our border, potentially posing a threat to us,” he said.

According to him, the situation in Finland’s immediate vicinity “is fundamentally different from the situation in Ukraine.” First and foremost, Finland was never anti-Russian, and we have had no disagreements with Finland,” Peskov insisted. “The situation in Ukraine is quite the opposite, and it is potentially more dangerous. This is why we needed to carry out the special military operation to achieve all of our objectives,” he added further.

A statement issued by the Finnish government after the country became the 31st member of the security alliance, said: “Each country maximises its security. So does Finland.

At the same time, NATO membership strengthens our international position and room for manoeuvre. As a partner, we have long actively participated in NATO activities. In the future, Finland will contribute to NATO’s collective deterrence and defence”.

“As a NATO member, Finland will need readiness for change and adaptability. While membership does not change everything, being an ally requires us to adopt new ways of thinking and some changes in legislation as well,” it said.