Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin should look in the mirror if Finland decides to join NATO to increase its own security.
Finland, which shares a 1,300 km (810 mile) border and a difficult past with Russia, has gradually stepped up its cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a partner since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
In a tweet Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said ,”One always measures friendships by how they show up in bad weather”. Finland and the UK are great friends and strong partners. We work to deepen our security cooperation.”
Finnish President was expected on Friday to confirm that Helsinki will apply for membership of the U.S.-led Western military alliance in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finnish President Niinisto made his remark when asked by reporters as he met Britain’s prime minister in Helsinki to sign a mutual defence cooperation pact whether Finland feared Russian aggression.