Russia may decide to terminate Finland’s 50-year lease on the Saimaa canal if the Nordic country decides to join NATO, the Russian broadcaster Izvestia said.
"As Russia’s relations with any country deteriorate, the agreements reached during better relations and then sensible can be revised. That would be quite natural," Dmitry Novikovthe vice-chairman of the Duma’s international affairs committee told Izvestia.
Many foreign and security experts have warned that Russia may try to influence Finland’s possible accession to NATO by all means.
The 43-kilometer-long waterway, completed in 1856, connects the vast Saimaa Lake District near the city of Vyborg, and almost half of the canal is located in a leased area from Russia.
The area around the waterway was once the territory of Finland until the end of the Winter War in 1940, as was the city of Vyborg, formerly Vyborg.
Finland first received a 50-year lease for the then part of the Soviet canal in 1963, and the lease was renewed for 50 years in 2013.
Freight traffic on the canal has declined significantly since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
Iltalehti was the first news magazine tell this story In Finland, the canal is one of the most important waterways in Finland.
Source: The Nordic Page