Finland's official accession to NATO on April 4 rather threatens to destabilize the situation in Northern Europe than increases the country’s security. This opinion was expressed by Andrei Chernobay, military analyst at the Belarusian Institute of Strategic Research, in an interview with BelTA correspondent.
"It was in the interests of Finland's security to retain its non-aligned status, which the country's leadership recklessly refused under pressure from Washington and Brussels, even without holding a public discussion or especially a referendum on this issue being of key importance for the state," the expert believes.
At the same time, Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance will significantly change the balance of power that has been maintained for decades in two regions at once: the Baltic and the Arctic, which cannot but cause a response from Russia, which is forced to take measures to ensure its military security in new conditions, Andrei Chernobay noted.
"First of all, Finland's key importance for NATO is the long, about 1300 km, land border with the Russian Federation, which actually doubles the military bloc contact line with Russia. Second, the naval component of the North Atlantic Alliance in the Baltic Sea is being significantly increased. Finally, Finland's Arctic status is very critical for the United States itself, since Washington has recently openly pursued a policy aimed at Arctic domination, - the expert stressed. - Moreover, Finland joined NATO without putting forward any special conditions for itself, which by default implies the possibility of deploying foreign military bases and even nuclear weapons of other alliance countries on the country’s territory. For example, in 2022, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, applying for NATO membership, stipulated the refusal to deploy foreign military bases and nuclear weapons. Finland did not do this, allowing the alliance to fully develop its strategically important territory. Thus, addition of another member to the North Atlantic Alliance does not contribute in any way to the stabilization of the military-political situation in Europe, but only leads to an increase in tension and further escalation, creates prerequisites for the emergence of new risks and challenges to the security of Russia and the Union State as a whole".