Finland calls Russia’s demands for its withdrawal from NATO unacceptable
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said Russia's demands to reduce NATO's presence in countries on the Alliance's eastern flank were not up for discussion.
The minister made the remarks to reporters in Helsinki on Friday, November 13, Bloomberg reports, according to Censor.NET.
Finnish minister's response
Häkkänen described the demands to reduce NATO's presence as a test of US and European resolve in the negotiations.
"Russia wants European NATO countries to impose restrictions on their own activities to serve Russian interests, but such things are not up for discussion," he said.
According to him, even proposing a reduction in NATO's presence in Europe is "absolutely outrageous, and Russia knows this."
On the Abu Dhabi talks
Commenting on the two-day talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, the minister said Russia was not serious about negotiations.
"Instead, Russia is broadening its demands — from the war in Ukraine to reshaping the European security architecture to its own advantage," Häkkänen said.
According to him, all Western politicians should recognize that this is part of Russia's long-standing psychological strategy: shifting the framework of negotiations to disadvantage the other parties.
"We must not fall for their bluff," he stressed.
Background
Earlier today, Bild reported that during the Abu Dhabi talks, Russia proposed a "new European security architecture" involving Finland's withdrawal from NATO and the removal of the Alliance's military bases from the Baltic states. It also envisages the transfer of all of Donbas and the "demilitarization" of the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had not demanded that any countries withdraw from NATO during the talks: "No, that was definitely not discussed."
- Finland joined NATO in 2023, just over a year after Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a result, the country now guards more than half of the Alliance's border with Russia, its main adversary.
