Senior Russian officials have slammed Finland's decision to seek membership in the NATO alliance — which came as a direct reaction to President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin both said on Thursday that their country should apply to join the transatlantic military bloc "without delay." Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde said Friday that her country would follow suit without delay, arguing that "Swedish NATO membership would raise the threshold for military conflicts and thus have a conflict-preventing effect in northern Europe." As Russian political analyst Fyodor Lukyanov said on his Telegram channel "Russia in Global Affairs," Finland joining NATO would increase Russia's land border with NATO member states by around 800 miles. Putin has repeatedly cited the eastward expansion of NATO — which he calls a threat to Russian security — as one of the primary reasons for launching his war in Ukraine. Finland, with its long shared border with Russia, has historically maintained military neutrality. Its accession to NATO would signal a dramatic shift in the country's geopolitics. Putin's stated goal in the Ukraine war of halting the alliance's expansion is being upended by Sweden and Finland's bids for membership and has conversely prompted NATO to bolster its military infrastructure across Eastern Europe, pushing previously neutral countries to take a tough stance on Moscow. "Both in [Russia's] foreign and domestic policy, the outlook is negative. In general, one can expect that Russia will now continue its aggressive rhetoric. This will be a big militarization of the Baltic and Arctic," political analyst Kirill Shamiev said in an interview with the Russian language outlet Meduza. "There will be an increase in the number and technical strengthening of the ground forces in the Leningrad region, in Karelia, and the potential deployment of nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad," Shamiev said, referring to far-western Russian territories. "In domestic politics," Shamiev said, "the feeling of a surrounded fortress will intensify — that 'the Americans are even more encircling our country.'"
President Biden called the leaders of both Finland and Sweden on Friday. In a readout of the call, the White House said Mr. Biden "underscored his support for NATO's Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy, and security arrangements."
On Twitter, the Finnish president thanked Mr. Biden for "all the necessary support from the U.S." as his countryheads for the "next steps towards NATO membership."
But the two countries' NATO aspirations do not guarantee membership. NATO requires unanimous approval by all 30 of its members for any new country to be welcomed into the fold.
Turkey is a NATO member, and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tread a very cautious line during the Ukraine war, positioning himself as a mediator between Russia and the Western powers.
He said Friday that he did not have a "positive opinion" of the membership bids by Finland and Sweden.
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.
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These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.