Russia Believes Finland’s Entry Into NATO Increases the Risk of War Breaking Out in Europe

Russia believes that Finland’s entry into NATO is “a dangerous historic mistake” and will reduce security in Northern Europe and heighten the risk of future conflicts.

“The security of these Nordic countries will not increase, but rather decline as a result of Finland’s accession to NATO,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on April 4. 

Ryabkov announced that Russia would respond with measures in the military-technical sphere to deal with potential threats in Russia’s northern flank. 

The Russian diplomat stressed that Finland and Sweden had succumbed to “the Russophobic frenzy,” calling attention to how they had failed to follow their own national interests and blindly joined the anti-Russia bandwagon in Europe.