Russia’s reaction to Finland’s intention to join NATO turned out to be very restrained. This was announced by Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on May 15.
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The day before, he held telephone conversations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, during which he informed Helsinki of its intention to apply for membership in the alliance.
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“The reaction we saw yesterday was more restricciones than expected,” he said during a press conference.
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According to Niinistö, relations between the two neighboring countries will now change. At the same time, he indicated that he did not see Russia preparing for military response actions.
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The Finnish leader admitted that it was a surprise to him that Putin “took it so calmly,” referring to Finland’s entry into NATO.
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Speaking of “aggression” from Russia, the Finnish leader said: “I don’t think they planned attacks on Finland then or now.”
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In a telephone conversation with Putin on May 14, Niinistö pointed out how “fundamentally changed” the security situation in Finland was by Russia’s demands at the end of last year to prevent countries from joining NATO. He also noted that the special operation of the Russian Federation to protect the inhabitants of Donbass contributed to this.
