1 hour ago
image source,Getty Images
Finland has increased its military budget in recent years (pictured, reservists of the Finnish Karelian Brigade conduct a firing drill near the border with Russia).
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned his Finnish counterpart that it would be a “mistake” to join NATO and give up Finland’s neutrality.
Putin told Finnish President Sauli Niinistö that Finland’s security was not threatened.
The Finnish Presidential Office issued a statement saying that Niinisto had a phone call with Putin on May 14, and the call was initiated by the Finnish side.
The two sides exchanged views on Finland’s intention to apply for NATO membership. Finland will announce its decision to apply for NATO membership in the next few days.
Sweden also expressed interest in joining NATO, the Western alliance, following Russia invaded Ukraine.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border with Russia. So far, Finland has stayed away from NATO to avoid angering its eastern neighbor.
image source,Archyde.com
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (left) and President Sauli Niinistö (right).
Putin did not specifically threaten retaliation for Finland’s move, but Russia’s foreign ministry said it would.
The Finnish branch of the Russian power company announced that it will suspend power supply to Finland from May 14, because the company has not received the payment due to supply power to Finland.
Russia’s announcement to cut power to Finland comes once morest the backdrop of rising tensions between Moscow and Helsinki.
But Reima Paivinen, executive of Finland’s National Grid, told the BBC that the Russian outages had not caused any problems.
Finland imports electricity from Russia equal to 10 percent of its consumption, he said, adding that other sources might be substituted.
image source,Getty Images
Finnish troops participated in NATO military exercises last month.
Putin stressed that it would be a mistake for Finland to give up its military neutrality and join NATO because Finland has no security threat, the Kremlin said following Niinisto and Putin spoke on Saturday.
Putin added that a change in foreign policy stance might “have a negative impact on the bilateral relations between Russia and Finland, which have developed over the years in a spirit of good-neighborliness and cooperation between partners”.
Niinisto told Putin during the call how Russia’s recent moves and the invasion of Ukraine had “changed the security environment in Finland,” according to a statement released by the Finnish president’s office.
Niinisto also said the conversation was “frank and direct” and that “no one was provoked” and that both sides “believed it was important to avoid tension.”
However, Turkey might be a stumbling block for Sweden and Finland to join NATO following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the two countries of harboring “terrorist groups” and said he did not support their applications.
The “terrorist organization” mentioned by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has been fighting Turkey for the Kurdish homeland for decades.
Turkey also opposes a Syrian Kurdish militia called the YPG, which they say is an extension of Turkey’s outlawed PKK – despite their alliance with the United States in fighting the so-called “Islamic State.”
Both Sweden and Finland have Kurdish communities, and in Sweden’s case, some MPs have Kurdish ancestry. President Erdogan has provided no evidence that these communities are linked to the PKK.
The foreign ministers of Sweden, Finland and Turkey held talks in Berlin on Saturday to try to resolve differences over Finland and Sweden’s plans to join NATO.
Ahead of the talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded to President Erdogan’s comments but expressed willingness to talk and discuss with both countries.
image source,Getty Images
NATO now has 30 member states
“The overwhelming majority of the Turkish people are once morest joining NATO by countries that support the PKK terrorist group…but these are of course issues that we need to discuss with our NATO allies and with these countries,” Cavusoglu was quoted by AFP as saying.
NATO, the full name of “North Atlantic Treaty Organization”, is a military alliance formed in 1949 by 12 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. NATO was created in part to defend once morest threats from the Soviet Union.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned that one of the goals of the Russian military’s “special military operation” once morest Ukraine is to completely dispel Ukraine’s hope of joining NATO.
For decades, Finland and Sweden have been careful to remain neutral. But the invasion of Ukraine prompted a radical rethinking of the situation in the two Nordic countries.
