Finnish President considers Russia's attack unlikely, while NATO exercises is signal to Moscow
President of Finland Alexander Stubb (Getty Images)
Finnish President Alexander Stubb considers a Russian attack on his country unlikely. He believes that the large-scale NATO exercises are a message to Moscow, according to Yle.
The new President of Finland arrived in the Norwegian city of Alta, where the NATO countries' Nordic Response exercises are taking place. Stubb met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre.
Finland is participating in joint NATO defense exercises for the first time as a member of the Alliance. According to Stubb, these exercises send a message to Russia that NATO will respond if Moscow attacks.
In his opinion, Russia will not dare to attack Finland.
"We need to work through different scenarios, but I don't think it will happen," Stubb said.
The Nordic Response 24 exercises began on Monday in the northern regions of Finland, Norway, and Sweden, with about 20,000 servicemen from 14 different countries participating.
Backstory
The German Bild previously published a scenario for military exercises in Germany, during which the German armed forces are preparing for a hybrid attack by Russia on the eastern flank of NATO.
A NATO official commented on Bild's material, saying that the Alliance received an exercise scenario, which always represents an imaginary situation to test military capabilities in a particular area.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense also commented on the situation. They stated that there is currently no threat of a Russian attack on NATO, as Moscow is focused on Ukraine.
