Finland & Sweden receive letter from Putin demanding security guarantees for Russia
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent messages to authorities in Finland and Sweden asking them to provide security guarantees for Moscow in the midst of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The letter is considered the Kremlin’s threat to both Scandinavian countries due to the possibility of joining NATO. Based on the same, a report published in the Spanish daily Marca stated that Putin sees Finland’s and Sweden’s membership in the Northern Alliance as a direct threat to Russia and has therefore asked the countries to refrain from expanding their security measures at the expense of others.
Earlier this week, Russia’s foreign ministry also issued a warning claiming “serious military policy consequences” for the two countries if they join NATO. The Kremlin-backed stance by calling it a move by the United States to “pull” Sweden and Finland into NATO. It is imperative to note that in February the Russian Federation issued a similar warning and demanded security guarantees.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: “Finland has threatened to apply to join NATO in terms of its national security. How does Moscow evaluate such statements, and can the accession of countries bordering Russia to the alliance force a re-escalation?
Do Finland and Sweden join NATO?
Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had invited Sweden and Finland to participate in a virtual summit on the situation in and around Ukraine. A few hours later, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that her country would join the North Atlantic Alliance if the situation for national security became “urgent”. At the same time, Sweden’s Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that it is the country that “itself and independently” decides on a security policy line, and emphasizes that it would be Stockholm’s decision whether to join NATO or not.
The war between Russia and Ukraine begins on day 8
After the first round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia ended uncertainly, diplomats went to the second round of negotiations late on Wednesday. To date, more than 2,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to Ukraine’s rescue service. At the same time, Moscow said that 498 Russian soldiers had lost their lives in Ukraine since the invasion began. The devastating conflict has also triggered a migrant flight to Europe with the number of immigrants now exceeding one million.
(Image: AP / Sanna Marin / Twitter)
Follow all war news and headlines between Russia and Ukraine War between Russia and Ukraine LIVE updates