Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Finland’s accession to NATO will lead to the presence of troops and missile defense systems near Russia’s borders. His statement was reported by RIA Novosti.
“But we didn’t have troops there before, now there will be. There were no missile defense systems there, now they will appear,” said the Russian leader.
According to Putin, neutrality provided Sweden and Finland with more advantages than joining NATO.
Earlier, Putin called Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO absolutely meaningless.
On March 11, the flag of Sweden was raised at NATO headquarters in Brussels, officially making the country a member of the alliance. Representatives of the state stated that they currently do not see the need to deploy NATO bases or nuclear weapons on their territory.
Sweden submitted its application to join NATO on May 18, 2022, together with Finland. On April 4, 2023, Finland became a full member of NATO.
Previously, Putin called the continued existence of NATO meaningless.
