Helsinki [Finland]May 13 (ANI / Sputnik): Finland does not see any direct military threats from Russia at the moment, says Finland’s NATO Ambassador Klaus Korhonen to CNN.
On Thursday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that the country “must apply to join NATO without delay”. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto later specified that Finland can apply for membership in NATO in the middle of next week if the Riksdag makes its decision then.
There are no “direct military threats to Finland” or any “irregular activity” shown by Russia, the envoy was quoted as saying in an interview on Thursday.
However, Finland remains alert and expects Russia to launch “cyber-harassment” and “disinformation campaigns”, Korhonen said.
The envoy said that when Helsinki made the decision to apply for NATO membership, Helsinki was driven by a “very drastic change in our security environment” following Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
The crisis in Ukraine has led to an extensive debate in both Finland and Sweden about abandoning decades of neutrality and joining NATO in the midst of a changing security situation in Europe. In March, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would accelerate Finland’s and Sweden’s membership applications if they decided to join.
On Thursday, both Finland and Sweden officially confirmed their plans to join the alliance. The USA and Germany have already promised support to the Nordic states if they choose to apply.
Russia’s foreign ministry said Finland’s statement was “a radical change in its foreign policy” and that Moscow would be forced to “take retaliation of a military or other nature”. (ANI / Sputnik)
Source: sn.dk