Finland’s defense agreement with US to pose threat to Russia, says Kremlin spokesman
(VOVWORLD) - Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the Finnish government’s decision to sign a Defense Cooperation Agreement allowing the US military to use 15 Finnish military areas, poses a security threat to Russia.
This will undoubtedly lead to rising tensions between Russia and Finland, he said.
In addition to granting access to military areas, Finland has also agreed to pre-position defense equipment and allow the US to deploy aircraft, ships, and military vehicles within its territory, according to documents released by the Finnish Government on Thursday.
Finnish-US negotiations on the agreement lasted from August last year to October this year. The signing ceremony is anticipated to take place in the US on Monday.
Finland ended its decades-long stance of military non-alignment by becoming the 31st member of NATO in April this year.