- 7. Mai 2023
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- Category: Allgemein
Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. ", This page was last edited on 23 April 2023, at 20:25. People in Finland's emotions have included a combination of fear, anger and, above all, disappointment towards Russia. In Helsinki, there are no hopes for a quick change in relations nor a need to strive for special attempts at dialogue. So there's not much they can stop. Analysts say Finland is friendly with Russia but remains hard-headed and realistic. Hence, the conclusion was that only NATO's article five and its nuclear deterrence could provide Finland with sufficient security. Finland remained neutral since a 1948 treaty with the Soviet Union and independent since 1917. Finland in 2021 sent 5.4% of its. Six children were among the dead after a Russian missile attack on Uman; Russian soldiers are likely being placed in improvised cells consisting of holes in the ground as punishment, the UK's MoD . Barring nuclear weapons, in conventional terms, they don't have anything with which they could seriously threaten Finland's independence and existence in such a way that they could force our hand, especially now that the United Kingdom and some other NATO countries will give us some assurances of military support if we are attacked. Of course, they could look to air attacks over that long border, but our air defenses and air force are in pretty good condition, and we've seen the quality of the Russian Air Force in Ukraine -- it's really not too impressive. Finland operates the 1 GW Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant with Soviet technology, and (until May 2022) planned the 1.2 GW Hanhikivi Nuclear Power Plant with Russian technology. Flashpoints include the country's purchase of an S-400 air defence system from Russia, armed offensives against American-backed Kurdish insurgents in Syria, accusations of American support for a . Certain realities, however, will not change. ", [1/7]Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto gestures as German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Norway's Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt attend a roundtable discussion during a joining ceremony at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium April 4, 2023. The View From Finland: 'The Russian Garrisons Have Been Emptied. HELSINKI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Finland is preparing a response to a letter it received from Russia on Tuesday that asked for security guarantees from OSCE countries, Finnish foreign minister Pekka . So we will establish the northern flank of NATO in the future, and I think there are enough tasks for the Finnish defense forces. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? We are pretty sure that they won't launch any kind of military operation because, first, they don't have the capabilities, and they don't have any reason to do that. We will participate most probably in Baltic air surveillance activities. So, it will change the basic relationship. Russia and the West: A century of subversion and suspicion. People in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, only about 150 km (93 miles) from the Finnish border, said Finland would make problems for itself by joining NATO. Flickr/Office of the President of the Republic of Finland. His writing has been published in various Georgian and international media outlets, including The Times, The Spectator, The Daily Beast, and IWPR. "Finland has always supported the sanctions against Russia [imposed in the wake of the annexation of Crimea], even though it has had a significant effect on the Finnish economy and despite Russian tourism being really important in the eastern region," she says. What can Russia actually do? Finland has had an exceptionally frequent and penetrating access to the highest echelons of Russian power. Russia has said it will be forced to take "retaliatory steps" over its neighbour Finland's move to join Nato. Finland joins NATO in historic shift, Russia threatens 'counter Kajanmaa: Of course, Russia can harm [Finland] and they are trying to put pressure on our decision-makers. World Food Programme lifts suspension of operations in Sudan, King Charles' coronation to feature historic chairs, Australia to reveal huge budget rebound, pledge restraint in response, Head of Mexican migration authority charged over deadly Juarez fire. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. She says perceptions that Finland somehow sits in the middle between Russia and the West are misguided. However, access and close experience should not necessarily be mixed with having influence over Moscow nor is it something Finland particularly ever claimed to have possessed. But Finland shares an 830-mile land border with Russia and Lappeenranta is only 19 miles from the frontier - closer to Russian president Vladimir Putin 's home city of St Petersburg than to. Overall I don't think that there would be a need to permanently base NATO units in Finland, but [instead] to improve our capability to receive temporary reinforcement if needed. While Finland shares a 1,340km (830-mile) border with Russia, its present relationship with the country is vastly different from that of Moscow's neighbours in the Baltics and Eastern Europe. - The most serious incident of the 50s came when Soviet war planes downed two Swedish aircraft, one military and one civilian, within a few days of each other over the Baltic Sea in 1952. Their economic power is very small, because even before the war, our trade with Russia was something like 5 percent of the total trade in Finland. - Finland had to also sign the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance with Russia in 1948, cementing a degree of economic and political dependency and isolating it militarily from western Europe. Under the rule of Russian tsars Finland kept all the taxes collected on its territory, the decisions of Finnish courts were not subject of review by Russian courts, and all government positions (except for the Governor General) were occupied by natives of Finland. We will cooperate with Sweden and Norway in the northern part. Read about our approach to external linking. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 2023 Cable News Network. Paraguay's President-elect Santiago Pena, a clean-cut former central bank director, will need all his wits and cool to steer the South American nation through economic headwinds hurting voters and rising pressure from farmers to cut ties with Taiwan. "It is a great day for Finland and I want to say that it is an important day for NATO," Niinisto said at a joint news conference with Stoltenberg. Can the United States persuade them? Finlands former Ambassador to Russia, Mr. Ren Nyberg, has described Russia as the insoluble dilemma of Finland's foreign policy. (modern). in, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, even held new elections when the previous results were objectionable, "Here are the nations on Russia's 'unfriendly countries' list", MTV3: Large-scale network spying uncovered at MFA, "Russian energy supplier cuts off electricity to Finland amid NATO bid", "Russia warns NATO against inclusion of Finland, Sweden", "Finland says it could join Nato despite Russian pressure", "Nato-jsenyyden vastustus putosi enntyksellisen alas", At NATO's Door: Russia's invasion of Ukraine shifted the opinion of a majority of Finns in favour of NATO membership, "Nato-kannatus nousi enntykselliseen 73 prosenttiin", "Finns warm to NATO in alarmed reaction to Russian invasion of Ukraine", "Ylen kysely: Nato-jsenyyden kannatus vahvistuu 62 prosenttia haluaa nyt Natoon", "Finnish leaders confirm support for Nato application", "Finland must apply to join Nato without delay, say president and PM", "Finland and Sweden formally apply for NATO membership", "Live streaming: Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs", "Finland joins NATO in the alliance's fastest-ever accession process", Embassy of the Russian Federation in Helsinki, Consulate-General of Finland in Saint Petersburg, Ambassadors from Finland (current and former), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FinlandRussia_relations&oldid=1151399211, Articles needing translation from Russian Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2023, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2013, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. "[The] wide consensus between leading politicians is that it is not timely to discuss this issue," he says. President Putin told a news conference during a visit to Finland last July, according to Euronews. [9], During the period 198891 when the Baltic states were pursuing independence from the Soviet Union, Finland initially "avoided supporting the Baltic independence movement publicly, but did support it in the form of practical co-operation." Russia has an embassy in Helsinki, a consulate-general in Turku and consulates in Lappeenranta and Mariehamn. [23] Finland formally became a member of NATO on 4April 2023 during a scheduled summit,[24] finalizing the fastest accession process in the treaty's history.[25]. The Kremlins press service said in a statement that Vladimir Putin told Sauli Niinist that Finlands abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error since there are no threats to Finlands security. It goes without saying that self-reflection regarding Russia is needed. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Finland has become one of the small members of (NATO) that doesn't decide anything, losing its special voice in international affairs. If there would be air force or navy units arriving, they would probably use existing Finnish bases that could maybe be enlarged a bit if needed. Finland's era of strategic non-alignment began after the country repelled an attempted Soviet invasion during World War Two and opted to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring Russia. Neighbouring Sweden is expected to decide on its stance on Sunday in a meeting of the governing Social Democratic party led by the prime minister, Magdalena Andersson. RFE/RL: Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer land border with Russia. Undoubtedly we appreciate Finland's neutral status.". Finland has an embassy in Moscow,[1] a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg and two branches of the consulate (in Murmansk and Petrozavodsk). It's an assurance, meaning that if we would be attacked, [we could have] military support which would then be decided between Finland and the U.K. [U.K. Prime Minister Boris] Johnson would probably have to go to parliament and ask them to give him the powers to provide such support. One reason could be that the Kremlin has made clear that any move on Finland's part to join Nato could invite a strong Russian response. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. HELSINKI/BRUSSELS, April 4 (Reuters) - Finland formally joined NATO on Tuesday, its flag unfurling outside the military bloc's Brussels headquarters, in a historic policy shift brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine that drew a threat from Moscow of "counter-measures.". It also says a lot about Finland's relationship with Russia that, unlike the rest of Europe, it never waived conscription or reduced its defense forces to become a non-existent actor. The Finnish president told Putin by phone that his country would apply for Nato membership. And that means we still need the conscription system, for sure -- even as a NATO member, the responsibility to defend Finland lies 99 percent with the Finns. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. So where does Finland stand vis--vis its giant neighbour next door? They Don't Have Anything', It's all [Putin's] fault. We had a balance [of power] in this area, and it was Putin who decided to change that balance. If Russia reduces its border control, this may cause additional pressure at the Finnish end to control illegal entry. How do you intend to deal with that? Voluntary activists arranged expeditions to Karelia (heimosodat), which ended when Finland and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic signed the Treaty of Tartu in 1920. And I think what [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan wants to do now is get some face time in this issue -- in what in Finland we call "night milking," meaning he wants to see what he can get out of this. Read more, The Kennan Institute is the premier U.S. center for advanced research on Russia and Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. RFE/RL: Putin says he won't object to membership per se, but that it's NATO infrastructure he is worried about. Russian President Vladimir Putin is travelling to Finland at a symbolic time: the country is celebrating its 100th year of independence from Russia. As President Mr. Sauli Niinist pointed out in his speech for the Finnish Ambassadors, there is not much left of Finlands earlier relationship with Russia as trust is gone and there is nothing in sight on which to base a new beginning. "It's a special day for Finland. Russia launches pre-dawn missile attack on Ukraine, Chaos at port as thousands rush to leave Sudan. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Yet at the same time "Finnish leaders and our current president want to keep dialogue with Russia, even through difficult times, and the dialogue is quite open and direct" including on the subject of Ukraine, says Ms Turtiainen. "We're talking about weeks or months rather than years when it comes to Finland," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said last month. RFE/RL's Georgian Service spoke to Major General Pekka Toveri, the former intelligence chief of the Finnish General Staff, and Colonel Petteri Kajanmaa, director of the Department of Military Skills at the National Defense College, about Finland's changing security outlook, the potential stumbling blocks ahead, and why so-called "Finlandization" was never a good model for Ukraine. [2] In addition, on December 11, 1811, Russia transferred to Finland Vyborg Governorate, that Russia acquired from Sweden earlier in 1721 and 1743. Given widespread support for the existing state of affairs, Finland has not seen the same kind of political meddling that Russia has been accused of in many European states and the US, Mr Kangaspuro says. Although the effort by Helsinki to actively build predictability and interdependencies between Russia and the West has been noble, in the end the time turned out to not be right. Same goes for army units. Finland Nato: Russia threatens to retaliate over membership move They don't have anything. Finland joins Nato in a major blow to Putin which doubles the length of It's not nothing, but it's not as serious as it sounds. Finland's Russian trade on thin ice - DW - 05/17/2022 And if you go down souththat is where the major Baltic Sea forces of Russia are, at Kaliningrad, close to Poland. Thus, it seems that Finland will face its traditional dilemmas and problems mostly in a new context and as part of an alliance. While Finland shares a 1,340km (830-mile) border with Russia, its present relationship with the country is vastly different from that of Moscow's neighbours in the Baltics and Eastern Europe that fret publicly about Mr Putin's agenda in the region after the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014. First of all, I doubt that there would be separate NATO bases in Finland. Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals, Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki and Johan Ahlander in Stockholm What does the pact entail exactly? The Finns suffered 89,108 dead or missing military personnel during these wars[4][5][6] but inflicted severe casualties on the Soviet Union: 126,875167,976 dead or missing during the Winter War[7][8] and 250,000305,000 dead or missing during the Continuation War. It had to relocate 400,000 inhabitants, or 11% of its population, from lost territories and pay war indemnities worth $300 million, equalling some 4.9 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in current exchange rates. The discussion [with Putin] was straightforward and unambiguous and was held without exaggeration. A first obvious answer is Russia. NATO has repeatedly stressed that it is solely a defensive alliance and does not threaten Russia. It is whole new border infrastructure and new approach to border surveillance. Russia Reacts to Sweden and Finland Nearing NATO Membership - Newsweek The always present potential of Russias threat had to be viewed from a different perspective after February. NATO and Finland actively cooperate in peace-support operations, exercise together and exchange analysis and information. In the future, Finlands NATO membership will prevent scenarios like the one mentioned above. Russia said on Monday it would strengthen its military capacity in its west and northwest in response to Finland joining NATO. MisterVee on Twitter "Russia probably doesn't have any serious need or reason to try to interfere in our politics because our relations are as good as they can be in this situation.". Almost 17,000 Russians traveled to Finland last weekend in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin 's announcement of a partial military mobilization of 300,000 citizens to aid the war . Naturally, Russia was at the heart of the discussions. To what extent does President Vladimir Putin have himself to blame for this outcome? However, the Soviet Union did not abide by the treaty when they blockaded Finnish naval ships. When Russia invaded Finland in 1808, Helsinki was again burned to the ground. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. Niinist and the Finnish prime minister, Sanna Marin, on Thursday jointly endorsed Finlands Nato bid and recommended the country must apply for it without delay to guarantee security amid Russias military manoeuvres in Ukraine and Europes changed geopolitical and security landscape. Between Russia, Sweden, and NATO: Finland's defence of "sovereignty It said while the resolution aims to stop tourism and related transit from Russia altogether it will not prevent traveling when it is deemed necessary for humanitarian reasons, for national interests or for meeting Finlands international obligations., According to a November press release by the Finnish Border Guard, the amount of entries has decreased significantly after the restrictions came into force.. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Furthermore, Russia sees Finland's inclusion in NATO as a threat to Russian national security since the United States would likely be able to deploy military equipment in Finland if the country were to join NATO. During the Cold War and ever since, we tried to create such a relationship [so] that we wouldn't have any arguments between each other. The phone call was conducted on Finlands initiative, Niinists office said. This is not the right time to build connections but rather strengthen a common position in the West. Now we have power also behind us, not just our own forces.". Paraguay's President-elect Santiago Pena: puppet or pragmatist? People hold a giant Ukrainian flag as they take part in an ecumenical prayer moment in support of Ukraine amid Russia's invasion in Helsinki on April 18. Russia with which Finland, an EU member since 1995, shares a 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border has threatened to punish the country if it joins NATO. "Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a. A recent survey found that just 21% of Finns support joining Nato, while 51% oppose it, with the rest not giving an answer. Indeed, President Niinisto told Russia's Tass news agency ahead of the visit that his communication with President Putin is "rather clear and frank", with the pair able to "discuss anything". How NATO Could Change Finland's Military "What do you think we will do in this situation? Ukraine war latest: Boy, 6, cries as sister killed in Russian attack For example, it is possible to imagine a limited Russian military or hybrid threat scenario against Finland in order to absorb Helsinki into Moscows orbit. Why is Russia threatening Sweden and Finland to not join NATO? [And then] we saw with the aggression against Ukraine that Putin is blatantly willing to use force against even other Slavic nations. So it's not just the bunkers; conscription is still mandatory for men, and the country has about 900,000 reservists. By JARI TANNER May 14, 2022. With the Russian Empire's collapse during World War I, Finland took the opportunity to declare independence, which was accepted by the USSR "in line with the principle of national self-determination that was held by Lenin. They don't have any land force [to do that]; 80 percent of their combat-capable land forces are in Ukraine. During these years Karelia was a highly Russian occupied military ground; the operation was led by Russian general Waltteri Asikainen. Kajanmaa: I think, from the politicians' point of view, they realized at that moment that someone else was trying to decide on behalf of Finland and that's not acceptable. Did you encounter any technical issues? A sense of: "We are going into NATO. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. I don't think Hungary is such a big problem. Vazha Tavberidze is a staff writer with RFE/RL's Georgian Service. - Finland lost around 10% of its territory to the Soviet Union in the Moscow Armistice in September 1944. Of all the continental European nations combating, as part of World War II, Helsinki and Moscow were the only capitals not occupied. That is still the case. You have to remember that the biggest NATO countries, barring the U.K., are also the biggest EU countries and Hungary is getting a lot of money from the EU. Niinists office said the Finnish head of state told Putin how starkly Finlands security environment had changed after Moscows invasion of Ukraine, and pointed to Russias demands on Finland refraining from seeking membership of the 30-member western military alliance. Toveri: It's not a security guarantee. As such, the necessities brought about by geography and the effort to avoid escalation will be the core of Finlands relationship with Russia. - After a few decades of Finnish independence and just before World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union made a non-aggression pact which included a secret protocol that assigned Finland as well as Estonia and Latvia to the Soviet "sphere of influence". The Iranian national flag flies at half-staff atop the Iranian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, January 5, 2020 (AP) The Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said Saturday that the bilateral relations between his country and Moscow have been reaching new levels in light of both countries having a similar and sometimes unanimous approach toward regional and international issues. Europe can't decide if it wants to punish ordinary Russians for Putin's war. Traditionally, Russia has used political, economic, and military pressure -- and power. The use of Russian language was never required during the reign of Russian emperors in Finland. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Relations between Moscow and Helsinki have soured after Finland said it would apply to join NATO in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia occupied Finland several times: The lesser and greater wars respectively saw a Russian occupation of Finland. Senior border guard officer Juho Pellinen walks along a fence marking the boundary area between Finland and Russia near the border crossing of Pelkola, in Imatra, Finland on November 18, 2022. vladimir putin olaf scholz crisis ucrania lkl xavier colas_00011504.png. The Ukraine crisis has strengthened Finland's transatlantic relations with the United States. Finland cannot rely on the effectiveness of Russian border control, the statement said. Relations between Finland and Russia have been conducted over many centuries, from wars between Sweden and Russia in the early 18th century, to the planned and realized creation and annexation of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire during Napoleonic times in the early 19th century, to the dissolution of the personal union between - Sweden lost Finland to Russia in a war in 1809, turning Finland into an autonomous part of the Russian empire, the Grand Duchy of Finland. However, regardless of the result in the battlefields, it is certain that these relations will not return to the way they were before. "He is getting exactly the opposite Finland today, and soon also Sweden will become a full-fledged member of the alliance," Stoltenberg said. Then [regarding] military power, [Putin's] forces are tied up in Ukraine. - In the chaos resulting from the Russian Revolution in 1917, Finland declared its independence on Dec. 6 that year. Inevitably, the changes will be reflected in its Russia relations. RFE/RL: The U.K. has said it would "provide support" if Finland and Sweden were attacked. A prime example of this is how between 2012 and 2022, the President of Finland, Mr. Sauli Niinist has either met or held a telephone meeting with his counterpart Vladimir Putin over 40 times. Toveri: The thing is that 90 percent of that border is wilderness, it's just forestno road, no network, no anything. In dropping non-alignment, Russia's Foreign Ministry said, Finland was committing a dangerous historical mistake that would fray relations with Moscow and undo its status as a confidence-building presence in the Baltic Sea and Europe at large.
