The Nordic country and eurozone member 'wants to take care of the practical questions arising from being a neighbour of Russia in a correct and professional manner,' said Niinisto, who has communicated regularly with Putin in recent years.
HELSINKI, FINLAND - Finnish President Sauli Niinisto spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday about the Nordic country's application for NATO membership, expected to be announced this weekend, his office said.
"Putin stressed that the end of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake since there is no threat to Finland's security," it said in a statement. Both countries have long cooperated with the Western military alliance and are expected to be able to join it quickly. Moscow responded by saying it would "definitely" see Finnish membership as a threat and that Moscow would be "forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats".
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