Finland officially joins NATO, Russia warns of retaliation

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov (Photo: Reuters).

In a statement released on April 4, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of threatening Russia's "security and national interests" by admitting Finland as the 31st member of the military alliance.

Responding to reporters at a press conference the same day, Mr. Peskov emphasized that Finland's admission was "a step that escalates the situation", and reiterated Moscow's warnings about the NATO military alliance trying to expand closer to Russian territory.

According to Mr. Peskov, this step by NATO will force Moscow to consider "tactical and strategic retaliatory measures to ensure security".

The Kremlin spokesman also confirmed that Moscow will "continue to monitor the situation regarding the mobilization of NATO troops, military equipment and infrastructure in Finland" and take "response measures if necessary".

The Finnish government and NATO authorities have not yet commented on the Kremlin's reaction. Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that the alliance's troops would only be stationed on Finnish territory if the Finnish government allowed it.

On April 4, after a flag-raising ceremony held at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Finland officially became the 31st member state of NATO. Finland's admission ended seven decades of neutrality for the Nordic country and set a record for the time it took NATO to approve a new member. It took Finland just over 10 months from the time it submitted its application to become a full member of NATO.

Flags of member countries outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium (Photo: AFP).

The admission of Finland, a country with more than 800km of border with Russia, has received harsh criticism from Moscow.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko warned that Moscow would respond to Finland's NATO membership by strengthening its defenses if necessary.

"We will strengthen our military potential in the west and northwest. In case of deployment of forces of other NATO members on Finnish territory, we will take additional steps to ensure Russia's military security," Grushko said in a speech carried by state news agency RIA Novosti .

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/phan-lan-chinh-thuc-gia-nhap-nato-nga-canh-bao-tra-dua-20230404194613803.htm