Russia has threatened an independent state that it will be destroyed if it joins NATO.
After the Russian aggressor launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russia is now trying to intimidate another country that wants to choose its own future – Finland.
United Russia MP Vladimir Jabarov, who is the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s international affairs committee, warned Finland that it would face serious consequences if it joined the Alliance. “If the Finnish leadership does that, it will be a strategic mistake. I think this would be a terrible tragedy for the entire Finnish people. It is unlikely that the Finns themselves will sign a document for the destruction of their country, “Vladimir Jabarov threatened. According to him, Finland will become a “target” of the Russian army if it joins NATO.
Due to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine, more and more Finns want their country to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. For decades, Finland has been working on geostrategic balance. The country was not a member of military alliances and maintained fair relations with Russia. However, the war in Ukraine changed everything. A poll found that 54% of those polled would support the country’s NATO membership. The Kremlin is trying to intimidate independent states and wants to increase its spheres of influence by force. Unlike Russia, NATO does not use force to force independent states to seek membership in the Alliance, and membership is voluntary.
Stoltenberg: Finland and Sweden are welcome in NATO
NATO will quickly welcome Finland and Sweden into its open arms if they decide to apply, the alliance’s secretary-general said on Wednesday. Russia’s war against Ukraine has boosted public support in the two Scandinavian countries for membership.
NATO can also provide security guarantees to countries if a potential membership bid angers Russia, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
Last month’s poll by the Finnish television company YLE found that for the first time, more than 50% of Finns support joining the Western military alliance. In neighboring Sweden, a similar poll found that supporters of NATO membership were more than opposed.
“If they decide to run, I expect all allies to welcome them,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels as NATO foreign ministers met to discuss the war in Ukraine. “We know they can easily join this union if they decide to apply.”
Before the war against Ukraine began, President Vladimir Putin called on NATO to halt its expansion and withdraw its troops from Russia’s borders. So the prospect of Finland and Sweden joining is unlikely to be welcomed in Moscow.
To protect them, Stoltenberg said NATO members may be ready to provide a security guarantee to cover the two neutral states from the moment they announce a possible membership bid until their applications are approved.
Once they become members, they will benefit from NATO’s collective defense clause, in which all members come to the aid of any ally attacked.
“I am confident that we will find ways to address the concerns they may have about the period between a potential application and final ratification,” Stoltenberg said. He declined to speculate on what those security guarantees might include.
Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said the country’s lawmakers should discuss the government’s white paper on security this month, including an option to join NATO. He said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had changed public opinion.
Haavisto commented that Finland knows that “Russia is ready to take greater risks, as we see in Ukraine, greater risks for its security. We also see that Russia can gather more than 100,000 people alone against one country, even without touching its reserves. ”
He added that “the threshold has been lowered, at least in debate”, regarding Russia’s possible use of tactical nuclear or chemical weapons.
He also did not want to go into details about any security guarantees Finland may need, especially as the accession debate continues at home. But Haavisto said it was something his country would like to discuss with “key” NATO members, and that Finnish leaders had been in contact with US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinkon.
