Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the state media on Sunday, in which he commented on Finland’s NATO membership, among other things.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin commented on Finland’s NATO membership in an interview with the state-run Rossija channel today, Sunday.
– (West) rejoined Finland to NATO. Did we have any problems with them? All disagreements, including the territorial division issues in the mid-20th century, had been resolved a long time ago.
– There were no problems, but now there are, because we are creating the Leningrad Military District and concentrating a certain number of military units there.
Putin was also asked about the US president’s comment Joe Biden to the view that Russia could attack NATO countries if the country wins its illegal war of aggression in Ukraine.
– A completely absurd statement, and I believe that President Biden knows this. Russia has no reason, no interest – no geopolitical, no economic, no political, no military interest – to fight against NATO countries.
According to the state-run news agency Ria Novosti, Putin said in the same interview that at the beginning of the 2000s, he was “naive that the West would understand that Russia had become a completely different state” after the end of the Cold War. According to Putin, “the ideological confrontation was over”.
However, according to Putin, the West “wanted Russia to break up into parts” so that “the West could take advantage of their resources”. According to Putin, if he could, he would warn his past self against being “too gullible” about the West.
Sources: Reuters, AFP