According to Agence France-Presse, the Finnish President's Office said that Finnish President Niinistö spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 14th about the country's application to join NATO.
Finland expects to announce the application this weekend.
At the crucial moment, Finland's entry into NATO is a major humiliation for Putin.
Finnish Parliament on 12 May. Image source: nyt
On the morning of May 12, Finland made it clear that it wanted to join NATO. Nato also stated that it will use the rapid accession process.
NATO was founded on April 4, 1949, initially with 12 founding members, including the United States, Canada, etc., and now it is constantly expanding eastward, there are 30 countries, NATO has a large number of nuclear weapons, and is also a military organization in the West. Of course, no one can add it if they want to, there must be two basic conditions:
One is that there is no territorial dispute with neighbouring countries;
Therefore, Ukraine has always wanted to join, and NATO has closed its doors to him. At first Ukraine did not meet the first requirement, but now the situation has changed and neither requirement is met. Although the United States pretends to make some promises, in fact, it is a false intention, and for the United States, Ukraine is just a pawn to contain Russia, and it is not worth mentioning at all.
Not for Ukraine, but all the way to Finland, so NATO's encirclement of Russia has expanded a little, because Finland is only 170 kilometers away from St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.
As a neutral country, Finland, even during the Cold War, was not tempted to join NATO. So why join the Union now? Finland's account is that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has changed the security environment and "Finland has had to make a decision".
This "had to" is not necessarily subjective, or objective helpless, or forced by various pressures, from the United States, or other NATO members.
The Finns, who had always been shrewd, were finally confused. Many times in small countries, history will only give it a chance.
Ukraine did not fight this punch well, and the messy punch behind it came.
This is forcing Russia to use strategic weapons.
Finland wants to join NATO, the strongest reaction should be Russia, before this Russia has not agreed to Ukraine's accession to NATO, this is the bottom line, now Finland is moving, Of course, Russia will not sit idly by.
At about 10:00 a.m. local time on the 12th, Finnish President Niinistö and Prime Minister Marin issued a joint statement formally announcing their support for Finland's application to join NATO, which will undoubtedly pose a security threat to Russia. Russia responded quickly:
(1) Finland's accession would seriously damage Russian-Finnish bilateral relations
2. Russia will formulate corresponding sanctions
Russia said it has no hostile intentions toward Finland, but NATO's intention is very clear, it wants to create another flank for the military threat facing Russia.
NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and Finnish Prime Minister Marin. Image source: wp
If Finland does join NATO, it would be a further sign that the West is united against Russia.
What makes Russia feel more dangerous is that not only Finland, but after Finland, Sweden may also apply to join NATO, if the time is unified, Finland and Sweden may join at the same time, which is indeed a threat to Russia. Some media analysts said that once the two countries submit applications and join, NATO may be able to rotate US and British troops in Finland and Sweden and increase the number of exercises in the Baltic Sea, so that Russia will face various threats or some unexpected blows.
We all know that these two countries have always declared themselves permanently neutral.
Good guys, all of a sudden decided not to be neutral. Because Finland's geographical location is so important. Previous image.
Then again, between NATO and Russia, there is really an extreme game, and NATO is having a lot of fun. But they would never have thought of the serious consequences of forcing a nuclear power into a desperate situation, and thinking about it would make people take a breath of cool air.
However, reality is reality, and on May 15, tomorrow, Finland will officially submit its application.
What has weighed on Russia is that the United States and Britain have promised before that they will give enough support if Russia moves.
Such a promise has reassured Finland to some extent, so it seems that the attitude is still relatively firm, or there is a handle in the hands of the United States, or too many temptations are given, and there may be a threat.
Anyway, like a small country like Ukraine, that head is always growing in the neck of others, and no matter how many ideas you have, you have to listen to the command of others.
If Finland and Sweden do join NATO as they wish, 32 countries will be more densely hovering on Russia's doorstep, which is how insecure it is for a "family" who originally wants to live a good life.
Therefore, we have seen Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian Federal Security Council, who served as president for one term, once again issued a stern warning: once Russia and NATO clash, it is possible to fully escalate and detonate nuclear war.
It seems that the arrow has been on the string, then Finland is already difficult to ride the tiger, and Sweden is just a person watching the drama on the stage, if Finland successfully applies, then Sweden is obligated to meet it.
In that case, the risk level of NATO's direct confrontation with Russia will become increasing, which will be another high-risk moment for European security.
As a consequence, in the direction of Europe, the countries adjacent to Russia, except for Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, are all NATO countries, which will include Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Lithuania, Estonia, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Turkey, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia... as well as Finland and Sweden.
To put it bluntly, NATO's eastward expansion is a very serious threat to the security of the Russian state, and not only that, but it is also a huge emotional humiliation for Russia.
So in the face of NATO's humiliating northward expansion at any cost, will Russia's nuclear deterrence be substantially upgraded?
Russia's precondition for the use of nuclear weapons is defined as an "existential threat" to the country, and as for the circumstances in which Russia is judged to face an "existential threat", the only person who can make this strategic decision is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Here, we would like to ask Finland if it forcibly pushes itself into the NATO chariot for fear of falling into war, and does not hesitate to become a side of Russia, but also in exchange for so-called security guarantees, is it not a big sacrifice in exchange for small security? Finnish government, you take a moment to think, do you think something is wrong?
Or Finland is a mystery to the authorities, not really falling on the heels, not knowing what pain is.
However, when it really hurts, there is no turning back.
There is no regret medicine in the world, like Ukraine, if it goes back 80 days ago, we believe that for this war, Ukraine will definitely consider it again.
NATO is pressing forward step by step, will Putin sit still? Don't forget, in addition to having the largest conventional army in Europe, Russia also has nuclear weapons that can destroy the earth many times.
Don't fool people too much, NATO is facing a tougher Putin!
Finally, what Wangwang wants to say is that there are all kinds of signs that the world is becoming more and more dangerous, the uncertainty is getting bigger and bigger, and the balance of various international relations and the international pattern is becoming more and more fragile. We only hope that all is well in China, seize all the time and opportunity, and strive to develop and expand ourselves.
In the end, the world still speaks by strength.