Vladislav Grigoriev10:05 PM, November 13, 2026

3 min.309

Finland’s defense minister said that in recent days Russia had “clearly dared to test the US and Europe’s flexibility.”

Russia’s demands that  NATO reduce its presence in countries bordering it to the east are a test of the US and Europe’s resolve to negotiate, according to Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, according to Bloomberg .

“Russia wants European NATO member countries to limit their own operations in Russia’s interests, and such things are not negotiable,” he told reporters.

Häkkänen emphasized that it was “absolutely outrageous” to make such proposals. He added that Russia is aware of this.

“In recent days, Russia has clearly dared to test the US and Europe’s flexibility. We clearly see that Russia is not serious about peace negotiations, but rather is expanding its demands made during the war in Ukraine, with the aim of changing the European security architecture in Russia’s favor,” the Finnish Minister of Defense stated.

According to Häkkänen, all Western politicians must recognize that Russia’s recent actions and statements are a psychological strategy that has been in place for decades. He believes Moscow wants to put Ukraine’s allies at a disadvantage.

The agency added that Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president’s press secretary, had previously denied that Russia had proposed Finland leave NATO, claiming he knew nothing about it.Read also:

Journalists recalled that Finland joined NATO in 2023. This move came just over a year after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and means that Finland now guards more than half of the border with the alliance’s main adversary.

(C)UNIAN 2026