Among other reasons, Moscow justified its offensive against Ukraine because of its rapprochement with NATO and its political, diplomatic and military support for the Ukrainian government. The Russian government thus wanted to keep Westerners away from its borders.
With Finland’s probable entry into NATO, Russia would share another 1,300 kilometers of border with the Atlantic Alliance.
A day after the Finnish government announced its candidacy, Sweden announced Monday that it will apply to join NATO.
These requests show “that aggression does not pay,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who assured that the Alliance is ready to strengthen “security guarantees” for these two countries.
Finland’s accession to NATO is not a provocation against Russia
He also said that he was confident that a compromise would be found with Turkey, which had spoken out against the accession of Sweden and Finland.
After a meeting of foreign ministers of the NATO countries in Berlin, the German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, stated that the Alliance countries will not cease their efforts “especially in terms of military assistance” for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was visiting Germany, applauded in a video released on Sunday the change in position of Berlin, which is now willing to supply heavy weapons to kyiv.
Kuleba is scheduled to meet in Brussels on Monday with his European counterparts to discuss new sanctions against Russia.