The new rules in Finland will permit the deployment of NATO nuclear weapons on Russia’s doorstep
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has signed amendments to the Nuclear Energy Act allowing nuclear weapons to be deployed on the country’s territory. The Nordic nation’s parliament supported lifting the long-standing ban earlier this month.
The removal comes three years after Helsinki renounced its decades-long policy of military neutrality and joined NATO. Finland’s accession into the US-led military bloc has led to serious tensions with Russia, with which it shares a 1,340 km border.
“The president of the republic approved the proposal,” according to the Finnish government website on Friday. It also said the new norms would come into force on July 1. Under the new rules, Finland will be able to import, transit, supply, and store nuclear weapons.
Earlier this month, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen argued that the “Cold War-era total ban on nuclear explosives” was incompatible with the nation’s new role as a member of NATO. The amendments “enable the full utilization of NATO’s nuclear deterrence,” he said ahead of the parliamentary vote, while blasting parties opposed to the change as relying on the “erroneous” views “of a few so-called peace defenders.”
Stubb, a known Russia hawk, signed the amendments into law just a day after he stated he was “realistically optimistic” about the outcome of the Ukraine conflict in an interview with Politico, while still talking about the “strategic failure” of Russia.
Moscow cautioned Helsinki earlier this year against repealing the nuclear ban, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling reporters that it could “lead to an escalation of tensions on the European continent.” He added that “by deploying nuclear weapons on its territory, Finland is beginning to threaten us. And if Finland threatens us, we [will] take appropriate measures.”
Russia has also described Finland’s decision as “concentrated confrontation,” with Moscow’s embassy in Helsinki warning that even a “theoretical” possibility of nuclear weapons appearing on Finnish soil will be noted by Russian military planners.
On Wednesday, Moscow’s permanent representative at the UN office in Geneva, Gennady Gatilov, warned that Russia would treat nuclear weapons on its borders, whether in Finland or Poland, “as a direct threat warranting compensational countermeasures.”
“Will it increase the security of the relevant [NATO] nations? I really doubt it,” the diplomat told RIA Novosti.
