Finland’s President calls Putin; Turkey is ready to talk about NATO membership

*Paromita Das
President Sauli Niinisto informed President Vladimir Putin of Finland’s decision to join NATO in a “direct and straightforward” manner.

President Putin viewed Finland’s decision to join the European military alliance as a “mistake because there is no threat to Finland’s security.”

“Such a shift in the country’s political orientation may have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations established over many years in a spirit of good neighbourliness,” the Kremlin warned.
Finland had previously stated that Russia had cut off electricity supplies to the country. The Russian energy company announced a power outage due to payment issues.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that his country does not have a “positive opinion” on Finland’s NATO application.

“Scandinavian countries serve as a haven for terrorist organisations,” Turkey’s president claimed. Following Erdogan’s remarks, the White House stated that it was “working to clarify Turkey’s position.”

Following Russian President Putin’s declaration of a “special military operation” against Ukraine, Finland and Sweden have called for NATO membership.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that “the vast majority of Turkish people are opposed to membership in countries that support the PKK terrorist organisation.”

“However, these are the issues that we must discuss with our NATO allies as well as these countries,” Cavusoglu added.

In the midst of reports that Finland is planning to join NATO, Anatoly Bibilov, the leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, signed a decree calling for a referendum on joining Russia. Bibilov was defeated in his reelection bid earlier this month.