Finland’s President, Sauli Niinistö, has disclosed that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, reacted calmly when his country informed him of its intention to apply for NATO membership, a US-led military alliance, amid Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
Niinistö stated this during an interview with CNN about Finland’s plans to join NATO.
He said, “Actually, the surprise was that he [Putin] took it so calmly.
“But in security policy, especially talking with Russia, you have to keep in mind that what he said doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be all the time quite well aware.
“But so far, it seems that there’s no immediate problems coming.”
However, following Niinistö’s decision to join NATO, Russia cut off 10% of its electricity supply to Finland.
President Putin has also spoken out against Niinistö’s decision, saying “such a change in the country’s political orientation can have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations developed over the years in a spirit of good neighbourliness and cooperation between partners.”