[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Finnish President Sauli Niinist? announced that he officially informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during a phone call. Contrary to expectations, President Putin reportedly responded calmly and did not issue the usual threats.
On the 15th (local time), President Niinist? stated in an interview with CNN, "I spoke with President Putin last week and conveyed our position on joining NATO," adding, "The conversation was generally calm and cool." He continued, "He did not repeat the threats he had made before," emphasizing, "The surprising thing is that he accepted this fact calmly. It does not seem that any immediate problems will arise." The two leaders had previously spoken on the phone on the 14th.
During the call with President Niinist?, President Putin reportedly warned, "Russia does not pose any security threat to Finland," and cautioned that "abandoning Finland's traditional military neutrality policy would be a mistake." The Russian government also cut off electricity supply to Finland starting at midnight on the same day.
Finland shares a 1,300 km border with Russia, and being mindful of this, it did not join NATO when the security alliance led by the United States, encompassing North America and Europe, was established in April 1949, maintaining military neutrality for 74 years.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
