Elizabeth Sorrell
As Finland and Sweden consider joining NATO, Russia has threatened to bolster its military defences in the Baltic region. In Wednesday’s joint news conference between the Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin and the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, the Finnish Prime Minister gave assurance that the Finnish government would reach their conclusion on whether to apply for NATO membership “within weeks, not months“. PM Marin expressed that she is aware of the aggressions Finland could face from Russia as a result of their potential break of neutrality.
Russia has explicitly warned against Finland and Sweden joining NATO and threatens to deploy its military across the Russian-Finnish border. This supposed deployment of arms may also include nuclear weaponry. Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, has stated that this would be a “natural” consequence of the nations’ alliance with NATO. Medvedev claims that their membership to the military bloc would mean “no more talk of any nuclear-free status for the Baltic- the balance must be restored”.
⚡️Russia threatens Sweden, Finland with ‘consequences’ of joining NATO.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) April 15, 2022
The ministry’s Maria Zakharova said the two countries will then become a new “frontier” in Russia’s confrontation with NATO and there’ll be “negative consequences for peace and stability in northern Europe.”
Russia’s threats are a concern for border security in Europe
Finland and Sweden have been neutral nations and are not currently part of any international military bloc. Since the creation of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in 1949 and throughout the Cold War, both countries have steered clear of an alliance with NATO or the former Soviet Union. However, given that Russia’s military aggression toward Ukraine has now escalated into war, support for Finland to join NATO has reached a record high. For the first time, according to a poll carried out by Finnish broadcaster, YLE, more than half of Finnish people support the idea of joining NATO.
“..we must keep in mind our goal; ensuring the security of Finland and Finns in all situations.” – Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland
Finnish MP, Tytti Tuppurainen, believes that it is in the interest of European security that Finland joins NATO. “Not only to us Finns, it has to do with the whole border security in Europe”. Finland has an 830-mile border with Russia; Medvedev has also claimed that the neutrality of Finland was “an important factor in ensuring the security and stability of northern Europe”. Threats toward Finland from Russian politicians and lawmakers have also asserted that a NATO alliance would result in the “destruction of their country“, as put by Russian Federation Senator, Vladimir Dzhabarov.
For this reason, Finnish Defence Minister, Antti Kaikkonen, has expressed that Finland must be prepared for any potential Russian attack during the evaluation process of joining NATO. There have already been reports that Russia is moving military equipment across the Russian-Finnish border, although these remain unverified.
Nuclear threat is “Nothing New” in the Baltic region
However, the threat of nuclear deployment does not seem like “anything new” to other Baltic nations such as Lithuania. Lithuanian Defence Minister, Arvydas Anušauskas, contested Russia’s claim to a “nuclear-free Baltic region”. Anušauskas stated that Russia already stored nuclear weapons in the exclave of Kaliningrad which borders Lithuania and Poland. Lithuanian Prime Minister, Ingrida Šimonytė, has also stated that Russia’s military deployment in the Baltic region to threaten neighbouring countries is “nothing new”.
PM Marin has not given any exact timetable for Finland’s next move as international tensions rise. However, the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, says that “Finland will apply within weeks, latest May”. This is with the hopes of Sweden following suit alongside Finland.
Featured image courtesy of Yusuf Guleryuz on Flickr. Image license can be found here. No changes have been made to this image.
