Maria Zakharova threatens Finland with “a military surprise,”
The Russian response to Finland’s decision to join NATO will come as a surprise, and the measures will be military. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Russian media write.
“IT WILL BE A SURPRISE. THIS IS UP TO OUR DEFENSE DEPARTMENT. OF COURSE, THE APPROPRIATE DECISION WILL BE MADE, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE WHOLE RANGE OF FACTORS AND THE SPECIFICS OF HOW FINLAND’S MEMBERSHIP IN NATO WILL DEVELOP. BASED ON ALL THESE PARAMETERS, A DECISION WILL BE MADE, BUT FIRST OF ALL, OF COURSE, IT BELONGS TO THE MILITARY,” SHE COMMENTED ON FINLAND’S DESIRE TO JOIN NATO.
background
On May 18, Finland and Sweden submitted their bids to join the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended decades of military non-alignment.
Membership bids are facing resistance from NATO member Turkey, which has threatened to block them over accusations that its Scandinavian neighbors are a safe haven for anti-Ankara armed groups. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that his country cannot say yes to Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
“FIRST OF ALL, WE WILL NOT SAY YES TO JOINING NATO, A SECURITY ORGANIZATION, TO THOSE WHO IMPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST TURKEY. BECAUSE THEN NATO CEASES TO BE A SECURITY ORGANIZATION. WE CANNOT SAY YES. WE CANNOT BE STUNG AGAIN THERE, WHERE WE WERE STUNG BEFORE,” HE SAID.
At the CSTO summit, Putin made it clear that Russia’s reaction to Sweden’s entry into NATO would be different than in the case of Ukraine.
Helsinki, Stockholm and other Western allies remain optimistic that they can overcome Turkish objections.
