Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened new NATO member and neighboring country Finland with unspecified “problems.”
“All previous disputes, including territorial ones, were resolved in the 20th century,” Putin said in a television interview on Sunday. “There were no problems before, but there will be now.”
➤ See more information: Secret Service: Russia sees Finland as an “enemy country”
“Leningrad Military District” is established
Putin announced a stronger military presence in the Russian-Finnish border area and justified this step with Finland's accession to NATO. “What did you need this for?” he asked the address of the neighboring country.
Moscow will establish the “Leningrad Military District” in the northwest of the country and relocate a “certain number of units” there, Putin said.
Putin: West “dragged Finland into this”
Putin accused the West of having “dragged” Finland, which was previously neutral in relation to the alliance, into NATO. Finland joined the military alliance in April 2023, after requesting membership as a result of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine that began in February 2022.
The US recently signed an agreement with Stockholm to use Swedish military facilities. A very similar agreement is about to be signed with Finland: the Finnish government recently published details of a corresponding agreement that will give the US military access to 15 Finnish bases.
The agreement is scheduled to be signed in Washington on Monday.