Russia warned on Friday that the possible deployment of US troops in Finland would pose a threat to the Russian Federation and provoke tensions between the two neighboring countries.
Finland, which has been a member of NATO since April, will sign a defense deal with the United States in Washington on Monday, negotiations for which concluded on Thursday, as announced by the Finnish government.
“We cannot but regret this fact because we had excellent relations with Finland,” Kremlin Spokesperson (Presidency) Dmitry Peskov said, as quoted by Russian agency Interfax.
“And of course, now that Finland has become a member of NATO, and when NATO’s military infrastructure is already entering Finland, this will obviously pose a threat to us,” he added.
The agreement will facilitate joint exercises and the transfer of troops and equipment, Interfax said.
It will also define zones where American soldiers can operate and where the United States can store or transport weapons and other military equipment, the Russian agency added.
Helsinki said in a statement that the agreement will strengthen Finnish defense as it allows for the presence and training of US troops and the storage of US defense equipment in the country.
Finland is the most recent member of NATO, joining in April 2023 after decades of non-alignment following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Sweden, which applied for membership at the same time as Finland, is awaiting Turkey’s approval to become the 32nd member of NATO, the English abbreviation for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen called the agreement “very important for Finnish defense and security.
“This is a very powerful message right now. The United States is committed to our defense, even in a difficult situation,” Hakkanen said on Thursday.
Finland, with a population of 5.6 million, shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia, which forms a significant part of NATO’s northeastern flank and serves as the European Union’s external border to the north.
Last week, Finland’s Scandinavian neighbor Sweden, which is about to join NATO, signed a similar agreement.
Alliance member Denmark is expected to do the same in the near future.
One of Russia’s reasons for invading Ukraine was to bring NATO closer to its borders.
Before the invasion, Moscow even demanded NATO’s withdrawal from its borders ahead of its expansion into Eastern Europe, as well as guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia would never join the Atlantic Alliance.
NATO refused such demands.
Source: DN
