Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in an interview published on Sunday, December 5, in an interview with the British newspaper Financial Times, expressed the opinion that Western countries should respect Russia and reckon with its national interests.
“The most important thing is that you [при взаимодействии] they did not provoke or ignore the Russians, ”the Finnish leader said.
Niinistö stressed that the Russian authorities always remember the warm attitude towards themselves, citing as an illustration the story of the former mayor of the Finnish city of Turku Juhani Leppä.
According to him, in the 1990s Leppä often met with the current President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who at that time worked in the executive authorities of St. Petersburg, the sister city of Turku. The Finnish head of state pointed out that Putin and Leppä still maintain the established respectful relationship.
However, Niinistö noted that Helsinki is closely monitoring Moscow’s military activities, since they have common borders with the Russian Federation.
“There is an old proverb in Finland that a Cossack takes everything that is bad,” the president recalled and added that the country “must be ready to take a firm stand” on certain issues.
Speaking about strengthening the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy, the Finnish leader noted that, according to the Russian leadership, in this way Moscow wants to ensure the security of the Murmansk region and strengthen its defenses.
“It is obvious that the Arctic route is of strategic importance. I have no doubt that the Russians understand this very well and even take advantage of it, ”he explained.
In conclusion, Niinistö drew attention to the fact that the international balance of security is now upset in the world and the previously existing fear is no longer there.
“The arms agreements of the 1970s reflected the need to find a balance. Now we have only fear, ”he summed up.
Earlier, on November 27, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto refused to help Ukraine in ensuring its national security. According to him, it is important that Kiev itself be able to take care of its own defense and, in cooperation with Western organizations, relied on this. At the same time, the Foreign Minister stressed that he considers the only way to resolve the situation in Ukraine is dialogue with Russia.
On November 23, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Federation was not going to attack Ukraine and was not hatching aggressive plans. A day earlier, a Kremlin spokesman pointed out that the movement of Russian troops inside Russia poses no threat to anyone.
Source: IZ
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
