Yuriy Kobzar20:57, 01.03.24

While Finnish law prohibits placing nuclear weapons on the country’s territory.

Finland , which joined NATO last year, must have a “real nuclear deterrent”. This was announced by the country’s new president, Alexander Stubb, who took office today, Reuters writes .

Even during his election campaign, Stubb stated that he saw no restrictions on Finland’s participation in NATO and was ready to allow nuclear weapons to be transported through Finland – although not stored there. But today, at his first press conference as president, Stubb allowed the placement of nuclear weapons on Finnish territory if the country’s parliament makes appropriate changes to the legislation – currently it prohibits the placement of nuclear weapons on Finnish territory.

“I would start by saying that we in Finland have to have a real nuclear deterrent. And that’s what we have, because NATO basically gives us three deterrents through our membership. The first is the military, that is, the soldiers, the second is missiles, meaning ammunition, and the third is nuclear deterrence coming from the US,” Stubb told reporters.

Finland in NATO

As UNIAN wrote, in April 2023, Finland became a full member of NATO . After World War II, the country declared military neutrality, refraining from joining NATO and the Warsaw Bloc. After the end of the Cold War, the status quo remained until Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the spring of 2022, Finland applied to join NATO.

After that, Russia began to systematically threaten Finland, hinting at military aggression against it. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin himself voiced these threats in particular.

(C)UNIAN 2024