A group of protesters burned the Russian national flag during a demonstration on Finland’s Independence Day
The Russian Foreign Ministry lodged an official protest with Finnish authorities on Saturday over what it called an “unprecedented, unacceptable act”. Moscow was referring to a group of protesters who burned a Russian national flag during a mass rally on Finland’s Independence Day earlier this week.
Moscow demanded that Helsinki “bring those who committed this crime to justice and take measures to prevent such extremist behavior in the future,” the ministry’s statement said, calling the burning of the flag a “desecration of our nation’s state symbol.”
The Finnish authorities have not yet commented on the incident.
Earlier, videos had emerged on social media showing a group of people apparently participating in Independence Day celebrations, holding a Russian national flag while others lit it. Several witnesses recorded the incident on their smartphones. In the background you could hear people chanting insults against Russians.
Finland celebrates its Independence Day on December 6 to mark the date the nation formally declared its independence from the Russian Empire in 1917, following the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Nordic nation, which shares a 1,340 km (832 mi) land border with Russia, has maintained military neutrality for decades. However, it applied to join NATO along with its neighbor Sweden in May, raising security concerns amid Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine.
On 5 December, the Finnish government submitted a bill on NATO membership for parliamentary approval.
Moscow has said the inclusion of Finland and Sweden in NATO would not make the European continent more stable and secure, and has vowed to adjust its military posture in the northern region if the bloc adds two new members. Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the West was “digging dividing lines” in Europe instead of working for collective security.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk