Russia will “not leave unanswered the build-up of NATO military potential on our border,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, following the newly signed defense agreement between Finland and the United States.
Under the pact, the Helsinki grants the U.S. military access across Finnish territory down to its border with Russia. Finland is the latest country that adhered to the NATO alliance earlier this year, abandoning a long-held position of political neutrality in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The ambassador of Finland to Moscow was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and told that Moscow will “take the necessary measures to counter aggressive decisions Finland and its NATO allies,” Zakharova added in Google-translated comments on Telegram.
Russia has historically attributed its war in Ukraine to a perceived threat against Moscow’s own interests and sovereignty, as a result of Kyiv’s aspirations to join the NATO military coalition.