Russia is testing US and Europe's resolve with NATO demands, Finland warns
Antti Häkkänen (photo: Getty Images)
Russia's demands to reduce NATO's presence on its eastern flank are an attempt "to test the US and Europe on how much flexibility there is," Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen said, according to Bloomberg.
"Russia wants European NATO countries to set limits on their own operations to serve Russian interests, and such things are not negotiable," Häkkänen emphasized.
According to him, such proposals are "absolutely outrageous." He noted that the aggressor country is aware of this.
The Finnish minister added that Moscow is currently not serious about peace negotiations and is instead expanding its demands in an attempt to reshape Europe's security architecture to its own advantage.
"Russia has clearly in recent days dared to test the US and Europe on how much flexibility there is," Häkkänen stressed.
The Kremlin's psychological strategy
Finland's defense minister emphasized that Western politicians must recognize the true nature of Moscow's actions.
According to him, this is part of a long-term psychological strategy that has been pursued for decades to create unfavorable conditions for Ukraine's allies.
What happened earlier
Bild reported that Russia is demanding Finland's withdrawal from NATO and a ban on Alliance bases in the Baltic states as conditions for ending the war in Ukraine.
According to the media outlet, Russian representatives put forward these tough conditions during informal talks on the war in Ukraine. They were also presented to European representatives during negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, the Russian leader's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the report. He said he knew nothing about it and added that no such conditions were put forward.
