Researcher believes Finnish NATO membership would lead to strong Russian reaction
In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland has begun to consider NATO membership.
“From the Russian side, it is a small disaster. They likely look at it negatively and probably also hostilely. One must assume that there would be sharp reactions,” senior researcher Flemming Splidsboel at the Danish Institute for International Studies (Diis) said.
Finland and Russia have very close ties. The prime ministers meet a couple of times a year. In addition, Finland has a border spanning 1,340 kilometers with Russia.
“So the fact that Finland is moving closer to NATO hurts, and it is deeply problematic from the Russian perspective,” Splidsboel said.
On Tuesday, the Finnish parliament will have a debate on potential NATO membership. An opinion poll conducted by the national broadcaster Yle shows that 53% of Finns now support joining NATO, compared to only 30% in January.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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