“Completely Outrageous.” Finland Rejects Russia's Demands
Finland has rejected Russia's potential demands for the country's withdrawal from NATO. Finnish Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen stated that Moscow wants to restrict the activities of the Alliance's member states in its own interests, but such matters cannot even be discussed, Bloomberg writes .
Photo: AP Photo/Sergei Grits
The minister's statement came following reports that Russian representatives unofficially put forward demands regarding a new security architecture in Europe during negotiations on Ukraine in Abu Dhabi. According to the German newspaper Bild, these demands included Finland's withdrawal from NATO and the Alliance's abandonment of military bases in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Häkkänen called the mere presentation of such proposals outrageous and said that Russia is attempting to test whether the US and Europe will yield to its pressure. In the minister's view, Moscow is not seeking serious peace talks, but is instead expanding the demands it made during the war in Ukraine to reshape the European security architecture in its favor.
He also noted that this approach is part of a psychological strategy that Russia has employed for decades: attempting to reshape the negotiation agenda and place Western countries at a disadvantage. The minister urged not to fall for the Russian bluff.
As reported, the Russian delegation also raised demands concerning Moldova, including a proposal to turn the country into a federation. This is believed to have been an attempt to divert attention away from peace negotiations regarding the war in Ukraine, during which Moscow offered no compromise options.
Meanwhile, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov denied reports that Moscow had demanded the withdrawal of Finland or any other country from NATO. He stated that he knew nothing of such demands and that this issue was definitely not discussed during the talks in Abu Dhabi.