NATO sends 3 warships to Finland amid tensions with Russia

NATO warships arrive in Finland reuters

Reuters news agency on April 25 reported that 3 NATO warships arrived at the port Turku southwestern Finland to train with Finnish forces, as the country considers the possibility of joining NATO.

The Finnish Self-Defense Force issued a statement saying that the mine-laying ships LVNS Virsaitis of Latviatwo minesweepers ENS Sakala of Estonia and HNLMS Schiedam of the Netherlands will train with two minesweepers from Finland.

The two-day exercise, which begins on April 28, will help Finnish ships prepare to join NATO’s response force and focus on mine countermeasures and operational mechanisms. multinational, according to the statement.

Earlier on April 13, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said the country would make a decision in the next few weeks on whether to join NATO, a move that angered Russia.

Finland and Sweden are close partners of NATO but have not joined the alliance formed in 1949 to deal with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Marin said the option to join NATO must be analyzed carefully, noting that everything has changed since Russia sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Finland has a 1,300 km land border with Russia.

According to the sheet Expressen On the evening of April 25, Finland and Sweden agreed to apply to join NATO at the same time. Swedish government sources said the two countries agreed to publish the application in the week of May 16-22, when Finnish President Sauli Niinisto visits Sweden.

In another development, Reuters reported that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said there was no danger to the breakaway region. Transnistria in Moldova, and wanted to peacefully settle the situation there.

On April 22, acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District Rustam Minnekaev said that the army plans to control the entire Donbass region and southern Ukraine under the second phase of the operation.

Mr. Minnekaev said that the establishment of the corridor on land from Donbass Going to Crimea and taking control of southern Ukraine would give Russia access to Transnistria, a secede enclave in eastern Moldova, “where there is evidence of oppression of the Russian-speaking community.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova later criticized the above statement as baseless and contrary to the position of the Russian Federation in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova within internationally recognized borders.

Regarding tensions with the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin On April 25, he accused the West of seeking to destroy Russia, and called on prosecutors to take a hard line on what he called a plot by foreign spies to sow the country and discredit the military.

The Russian leader said that the West realized that Ukraine could not win against Russia, so it switched to another plan when it sought to destroy Russia, but that plan did not work. The West has not commented on President Putin’s comment.