The Finnish Foreign Ministry explained the country’s desire to join NATO with Russia’s nuclear rhetoric

Moscow’s nuclear rhetoric was a key factor in prompting Finland to apply to join NATO, declared in an interview with Kyodo, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

The minister, according to the newspaper, said that “Moscow’s nuclear threats forced Finland, which shares a common border with Russia about 1,300 km long, to think about how to respond and where to get support.” Haavisto cited these concerns as one of the reasons that prompted Helsinki to make “historic changes” in its security policy and apply to join NATO.

The head of the Finnish Foreign Ministry pointed to the importance of nuclear safety during hostilities and mentioned the situation around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is under the control of Russian forces and is under fire. According to him, a serious accident at this facility would be “one of the worst scenarios that could happen.”

After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Finland and Sweden applied for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance in May. Hungary and Turkey have yet to ratify their bids to join NATO next February.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the Kremlin views Finland’s entry into NATO as a threat to Russia: “We have repeatedly said that the expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance’s military infrastructure to our borders does not make peace, and most importantly, our European, Eurasian a more stable and secure continent.”

Magazine published by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published this week an article that talks about a possible build-up of Russian troops in the northern direction after the two countries join NATO.

On October 7, US President Joe Biden said that humanity was facing a direct threat from the use of nuclear weapons for the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, in turn, has repeatedly stated that the Western media and politicians are actively discussing the use of nuclear weapons, but Russia will not take part in this. At the same time, he recalled that Moscow can use nuclear weapons only in accordance with the provisions of the country’s nuclear doctrine.