MOSCOW, June 7: Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Sunday that he does not believe in the alleged threat of a Russian attack on the Baltic states.
On Thursday, during a meeting with the heads of international news agencies at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russian President Vladimir Putin called statements about the possibility of a Russian attack on NATO not just nonsense, but a deliberate provocation.
“No,” Stubb told the Neue Zurcher Zeitung newspaper, when asked whether he believes in the threat of a Russian attack on NATO countries, particularly the Baltic states.
The Finnish leader added that he did not understand why Russia would need to test whether Article 5 of the NATO Charter on collective defense actually works.
Stubb also acknowledged the need to maintain political relations with Russia.
“For obvious reasons, they [relations with Russia] probably will not be the same anymore … But there must be relations with Russia. I say this as the head of state who shares a border with Russia stretching more than 1,300 kilometers [807 miles]. This border will remain. At some point, we will have to maintain political relations,” he said.
When asked about negotiations between European states and Russia, Stubb said he believes they are necessary. However, he declined to answer whether he was ready to act as an intermediary.
In May, the Finnish president said he would not refuse to take on the role of Europe’s representative in negotiations with Russia if offered. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow had not received any request from Helsinki regarding Finland’s readiness to represent the EU interests in talks with Russia. (UNI)
