Russia warns Finland's membership in NATO would be a threat

Russia on Thursday warned that Finland’s potential membership in NATO was a threat and said that it was prepared to “balance the situation,” characterizing any steps it takes in response as a necessary reaction forced on it by the alliance’s continued expansion.

President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO’s spread eastward to countries on its borders as the primary national threat to Russia and has used Ukraine’s desire to join the alliance to justify his invasion of that country. Putin has accused the United States and its allies of fighting a “proxy war” by arming Kyiv’s forces.

Russian officials continued to harp on that theme after Finnish leaders expressed support for quickly applying for NATO membership, suggesting that Putin is likely to spin the move as evidence that the alliance is growing increasingly hostile.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, appeared to take a measured tone, telling reporters that Russia wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with the alliance. But, when asked about whether Finland’s joining NATO would pose a direct threat to Russia, he said, “Definitely. NATO expansion does not make our continent more stable and safe.”

He warned that Moscow’s response would be determined by how “NATO’s expansion plays out, the extent to which military infrastructure moves closer to our borders.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry later warned that if the Finns join NATO, it would force Moscow to “make retaliatory steps of military-technical and other character.”

Putin has insisted that he needed to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO — which has grown in recent years to include a host of ex-Soviet states, although the Biden administration says it has no immediate plans to help bring Ukraine into the alliance. If Ukraine were a NATO member, the alliance would be obligated to defend it against Russia and other adversaries.

So far, Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine has been a rallying point for NATO as it unites around a common cause. The decision by Finland, which shares a 810-mile-long border and a long and complicated history with Russia, has prompted criticism from Putin’s political opponents.

“Putin builds his militarism on the confrontation with NATO, that we cannot allow NATO toward our borders,” Ivan Zhdanov, a close associate of Alexei Navalny, an imprisoned Russian opposition leader, said in a video Thursday. “In the end, because of Putin’s policies, NATO appeared along the entirety of Russia’s western border.”

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former liberal-minded president and now a top Kremlin hard-liner, returned to a familiar theme Thursday. Underlining the Kremlin’s message that Western countries are waging a proxy war against Moscow, he said a potential direct conflict between Russia and NATO “risks turning into a full-scale nuclear war.” This article originally appeared in The New York Times.