Titi Toborainen, Minister of European Affairs of the Finnish government, announced that his country was ready for any steps Russia would take in light of Helsinki’s decision to apply for NATO membership.
In an interview with Sky News today, Toburainen said he saw the Finnish government’s decision to apply for NATO membership as a result of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
“We are ready for any malicious intent or action against us, there is no panic and we are not afraid of anything,” he said.
Noting that Helsinki must take great care to avoid “restrictions on national maneuvering due to threats from the Kremlin,” Toburainen said, “There is nothing new in these threats and we have known for many years that the Kremlin is against raising NATO, but it is Finland’s fault.things and own decisions.
Expressing his belief that his country’s entry into NATO would bring “additional value” to the alliance, the minister said Finland had a “strong recruiting army equipped with modern equipment” and had recently decided to buy of 60 American F-35 fighters. .
Toburainen stressed that Finland would not be a source of threat or tension, and in response to a question about Finland’s possible deployment of NATO forces on Russia’s border, he stressed that Helsinki was “not trying to arouse anyone ”.
The Finnish Government plans to apply to join NATO with Sweden in the near future.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warns that if Finland joins NATO, Moscow “will have to take military-technical intervention measures”.
Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed this issue over the phone with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, in which he warned that it would be “a mistake” for Helsinki to renounce its military neutrality and that no security risk of this country. .
Source: RT + Sky News
Source: Arabic RT
