Finland is considering ending neutrality and joining NATO. It would have serious consequences, warns Russia – HNonline.sk

“Let’s say it again: part of Finland’s room for maneuver and freedom of decision is the possibility of a military alliance and an application for NATO membership, if we so choose.” declared Finnish President Sauli Niinistö at the turn of the year.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin also emphasized that every country has the right to freely shape its security policy. “We have shown that we can learn from the past. We will not lose our room for maneuver, “ a thirty-six-year-old politician bequeathed to Moscow.

Political leaders in Helsinki thus responded to the words of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He let himself be heard last week that the entry of Finland and Sweden into ONTO “Would have serious military and political consequences that would require an adequate response from the Russian side”.

The strong words of the head of Russian diplomacy must be seen in the context of tensions between Moscow and NATO. Russia has been amassing troops in recent months around the borders of Ukraine and calls for guarantees that the Alliance will not expand eastward and will not deploy weapons in its neighborhood.

The process of finlandization

Although the West rejects Russia’s demands, it also does not want to provoke Moscow to another possible aggression, so he nodded cautiously at the talks.

The NATO-Russia Council, which has met only sporadically in recent years, is scheduled for 12 January. Two days earlier, similar talks should take place between Washington and Moscow.

Tensions around Ukraine and Russian demands are also closely monitored by the Finns, who have their own experience with Russia.

In the 19th century, they were part of the Russian Empire, and between 1939 and 1940 they fought a “winter war” with the USSR, in which they lost Karelia but defended their state thanks to stubborn defense and greatly tarnished the prestige of the Red Army.

During the Cold War, Finland subordinated its foreign policy to Moscow’s interests in order to maintain its independence: it declared neutrality, rejected the Marshall Plan, and committed itself to economic cooperation with the USSR.

Today, the concept of Finnishization refers to the process by which a small state adapts its policy to a powerful neighbor – by the way, it was in the “Finnishization of Ukraine” that Milos Zeman saw a solution to the Ukrainian conflict in 2014.

Neutrality debates

It must be said that the end of neutrality and entry into the Western security system has been repeatedly debated in Finland since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The Finnish army, alongside NATO member states, participated in the KFOR mission, an engagement in Afghanistan, and joined the EU security training mission in Mali.

As The Financial Times notes, the current statements by the President and Prime Minister recall the intense debate on NATO membership that unfolded in Helsinki after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Donbas. After all, Finland then signed an agreement with NATO to organize joint maneuvers on its territory.

Opposition politicians are not left out either. “Russia recently indicated that the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO would force it to respond to the military. Such statements are shameful and tell more about Russia’s real goals than Finland’s or Sweden’s. Finland poses no threat to Russia. “ said the leader of the opposition National Coalition Party Petteri Orpo.

However, politicians must reckon with the fact that the idea of ​​applying to NATO would not be met with great enthusiasm by the public. The latest survey from last year shows that 26 percent of Finns support joining the Alliance, 40 percent are against.

However, resistance to membership is the lowest in recent years – it was five percentage points higher than before. On the other hand, more and more Finns are looking at Russia with distrust, with 60 percent of respondents in the October survey by the think-tank Eva identifying it as a military threat.

While the idea of ​​joining the Alliance remains rather a chimera, Finnish politicians at least offer their European and American counterparts advice that has been decades of meeting and wrestling with the eastern neighbor: if you get on your knees in front of the Russians, they will not respect you.

“Whenever the main goal of the great powers was to avoid war, the international system was at the mercy of its most ruthless member.” At the turn of the year, President Saulli Niinistö quoted Henry Kissinger and his assessment of the policy of appeasement towards Hitler.