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HELSINKI , May 14 (AP) \u2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his Finnish counterpart Saturday that relations between the two neighbors could be \u201cnegatively affected\u201d if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership.<\/p>\n
The Kremlin\u2019s press service said in a statement that Putin told Sauli Niinisto Finland\u2019s abandonment \u201cof its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error since there are no threats to Finland\u2019s security.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch a change in the country\u2019s foreign policy could negatively affect Russian-Finnish relations, which had been built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership for many years, and were mutually beneficial,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n
The response came after Niinisto told Putin in a phone conversation that the militarily non-aligned Nordic country, which has a complex history with its huge eastern neighbor, \u201cwill decide to apply for NATO membership in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n
Niinisto\u2019s office said in a statement that the Finnish head of state told Putin how starkly Finland\u2019s security environment had changed after Moscow\u2019s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, and pointed to Russia\u2019s demands for Finland to refrain from seeking membership of the 30-nation Western military alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe discussion (with Putin) was straightforward and unambiguous and was held without exaggeration. Avoiding tensions was considered important,\u201d said Niinisto, Finland\u2019s president since 2012 and one of a handful of Western leaders who has been in regular dialogue with Putin over the past decade.<\/p>\n
Niinisto pointed out that he had already told Putin at their first meeting in 2012 that \u201ceach independent nation would maximize its own security.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is still the case. By joining NATO, Finland will strengthen its own security and assume its responsibilities,\u201d Niinisto said.<\/p>\n
Niinisto stressed that Finland, despite its likely future membership in NATO, wants to continue to deal with Russia bilaterally in \u201cpractical issues generated by the border neighborhood\u201d and hopes to engage with Moscow \u201cin a professional manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Kremlin statement, the two leaders also discussed Russia\u2019s \u201cmilitary operation\u201d in Ukraine, and the possibility of achieving a political solution. Putin said negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv had been suspended due to Ukraine\u2019s \u201clack of interest in a serious and constructive dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phone call was conducted on Finland\u2019s initiative, Niinisto\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, the longest by any European Union member.<\/p>\n
Niinisto and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday jointly endorsed their country\u2019s NATO bid and recommended that Finland \u201cmust apply for NATO membership without delay\u201d to guarantee its security.<\/p>\n
A formal announcement from Niinisto and Marin of Finland\u2019s intention to apply for NATO membership is expected on Sunday. Marin\u2019s governing Social Democratic Party approved the membership bid on Saturday, paving way for a parliamentary vote next week to endorse the move. It\u2019s expected to pass with overwhelming support. A formal membership application would then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels.<\/p>\n
Neighboring Sweden is set to decide on its NATO stance on Sunday at a meeting of the governing Social Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.<\/p>\n
One possible hurdle to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance came from NATO member Turkey, whose president said Friday he was \u201cnot favorable\u201d to the idea.<\/p>\n
Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited support in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries for Kurdish militants \u2014 whom Turkey considers to be terrorists.<\/p>\n
Finland\u2019s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Saturday that he had already called his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, \u201cto take the tensions down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure that we will find a solution to this item as well,\u201d he told reporters at the start of an informal NATO foreign ministers\u2019 meeting in Berlin late Saturday.<\/p>\n
U.S. President Joe Biden held a joint call Friday with both Niinisto and Andersson where, according to a White House statement, he \u201cunderscored his support for NATO\u2019s Open Door policy and for the right of Finland and Sweden to decide their own future, foreign policy and security arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n
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HELSINKI , May 14 (AP) \u2014 Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his Finnish counterpart Saturday that relations between the two neighbors could be \u201cnegatively affected\u201d if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership. The Kremlin\u2019s press service said in a statement that Putin told Sauli Niinisto Finland\u2019s abandonment \u201cof its traditional policy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-190905","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190905\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}