Russia says Finland’s NATO membership is a threat
The Kremlin calls Finland’s accession to NATO a threat to Russia, emphasizing the bloc’s expansion does not make Europe or the world more stable.
“The expansion of the North Atlantic military bloc (NATO) and its approach to Russia’s borders do not make the world and Europe more stable or safer,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a press conference today.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto today agreed to allow the country to join NATO, a landmark decision in national security policy. The Finnish government and parliament are expected to soon approve a motion to join the military alliance.
Asked if Finland’s entry into NATO was a threat, Peskov replied “certainly”, noting that Finland had taken “unfriendly steps” against Russia.
“Everything will depend on how this process goes, how close the military infrastructure will get to our borders,” Peskov said when asked about Russia’s response.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a news conference in Moscow, Russia, February 18. Image: Reuters.
Russia warned on April 11 that if Finland and Sweden abandoned their decades-old policy of no military alliance and joined NATO, Russia will be forced to restore the military balance by strengthening defenses in the Baltic region, including the upcoming deployment of nuclear weapons.
Finland shares a border of more than 1,300 km with Russia. They became neutral through a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union in 1948, with the hope of preventing a recurrence of the 1939 Finnish-Soviet war, which killed more than 80,000 soldiers.
Throughout the Cold War, the Nordic country maintained its principle of non-alignment, despite the influence of both blocs led by the Soviet Union and the United States. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland gradually shifted its foreign focus to the West, marked by its decision to join the EU in 1995.
NATO diplomats say the process of ratifying an application for accession could take about a year, as it needs approval from the parliaments of the 30 member countries. Key members of NATO such as the US, UK, Germany… have expressed strong support for Finland and Sweden if the two countries apply to join.
Applying to NATO would not grant the two Nordic countries the protections of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which stipulates that any attack on one member of the bloc is also considered an attack on the whole alliance. Alliance and NATO will join the response.
During the transition from candidate to full member, Finland and Sweden will need a number of security guarantees from NATO, including asking the countries in the alliance to help strengthen the capacity of the alliance. defense against any threat.
May 11th, England signed a security agreement with Sweden and Finland, pledging to support their militaries should they be attacked.
Seven decades of NATO advance in Europe. Click on the picture to see details.
Duc Trung (According to Reuters)
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here
