MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of “problems” with neighbouring Finland after it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) earlier this year, CNN reported.
“They (the West) took Finland and dragged it into NATO! Why, did we have any disputes with Finland? All disputes, including those of a territorial nature in the middle of the 20th Century, have all been resolved long ago,” Putin stated in an interview on Sunday.
Notably, Finland’s accession to NATO constituted a significant shift in northern Europe’s security landscape, adding over 1,300 kilometres (830 miles) to the alliance’s border with Russia.
It was also a setback for President Putin, who has long opposed NATO expansion.
“There were no problems, but now there will be because we will now create the Leningrad military district there and concentrate military units there,” Putin said in an interview with Russian state broadcaster Russia 1, according to CNN.
Moreover, in the interview, Putin also dismissed the remarks made by US President Joe Biden as “complete nonsense,” who warned earlier this month that Putin would “keep going” if he took Ukraine, implying that Russia may eventually strike a NATO ally and bring US forces into warfare.
Russia “has no reason, no interest, no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political, nor military, to fight with NATO countries,” Putin said, adding that Moscow has no territorial claims in NATO countries.
“There is no desire to spoil relations with them (NATO countries); we are interested in developing relations,” the Russian President said, according to CNN.
Finland became the 31st member of the NATO alliance in April this year.
Putin had reiterated that NATO curtail its expansion even before launching his invasion of Ukraine. However, it was the conflict that “altered the security environment of Finland,” pushing the Nordic nation’s desire to join the alliance, according to President Sauli Niinisto, who announced his country’s intention to join in May 2022.
Within a few months of filing its application, the Finnish government announced that it would invest approximately USD 143 million to construct barrier barriers along Finland’s 830-mile eastern border with Russia, which previously had no security protection, according to CNN.
Meanwhile, Finland has closed its entire border with Russia this week due to accusations that hundreds of individuals were attempting to cross without a visa. (ANI)