HELSINKI, Apr 30 - RIA Novosti. The urgency of Finland and Sweden joining the North Atlantic Alliance arose due to Russia's actions in Ukraine, and the northern region of Europe will become stable and strong if it expands to the Russian borders, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto believes.
"Of course, the security situation has changed. The first change was that Russia was trying to limit the sovereignty (of other countries) and create a sphere of influence. The second is that Russia used military force incredibly harshly. And when a neighbor behaves in this way, then, of course, attention must inevitably be paid to it," the Finnish president said in an interview with Ilta-Sanomat newspaper.
The Finnish head has not yet published an open and direct opinion on the country's possible accession to NATO, the newspaper notes.
"Russia's demands in December showed that Russia does not see us as it saw us, that is, non-aligned militarily, a fully sovereign stabilizing power, but it sees us in a sense belonging to its sphere of influence or areas where others do not care," Niinisto said, adding that in In this regard, both Finland and Sweden should determine their own position.
"If it turns out as it seems that Finland and Sweden will join (NATO), we will have a new kind of North, responsible, stable and strong," the Finnish head stressed.
Niinisto believes that during his state visit to Stockholm on May 17-18, Finland and Sweden will already clearly understand their positions on NATO.
Finland and Sweden have started talking about the possibility of abandoning long-term neutrality and joining NATO against the background of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that NATO would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to join quickly. NATO expects these countries to make independent decisions on possible membership in the alliance in the coming "months and weeks," said the permanent representative of the United States to NATO, Julianne Smith. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance.
Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that the further expansion of the alliance will not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he does not consider the possible accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO an existential threat to Russia.
