Russian state TV pundits recently discussed whether or not Moscow’s military should “liberate” Finland as the Nordic country inches closer to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Turkey’s parliament voted on Thursday to approve Finland’s NATO membership, clearing the final hurdle for Helsinki to become the latest NATO member while also delivering a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. His concerns about the military alliance’s eastward expansion became a major international relations flashpoint in the months before he launched his invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s membership would bring NATO to Russia’s doorstep as the two countries share a northern border.
For decades, Finland and Sweden opted out of NATO membership, but formally applied to join after Putin ordered a “special military operation” in Ukraine last February. The countries memberships stalled for months as Turkey took issue with their relations with Kurdish groups in Syria that it considers terrorist organizations. While Finland has advanced toward membership, Sweden’s bid has continued to stall.
During a recent discussion on the Russian television program 60 Minutes, analysts raised the prospects of “liberating” Finland.
Russian authorities and pundits have deployed similar rhetoric surrounding Ukraine. They have sought to justify the invasion of the war-torn country by claiming an attempt to “liberate” Ukraine’s government from Nazis, despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky himself being Jewish.
Pundit Dmitry Abzalov described the situation involving Finland as a “mess” and “already out of our hands.” Russia-1 host Olga Skabeyeva however, said that Finland is “our historical land” and called for Russia to take action over Finland’s looming NATO membership
“We have to liberate the brotherly Finnish people,” she said.
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The idea sparked some pushback from Abzalov, who said Russian forces should focus on the ongoing invasion, which in recent months has stalled after Ukraine responded with a spirited defense effort, limiting Russia’s ability to make substantial advances throughout the fall and winter.
“First lets liberate everything else, and then let’s deal with the brotherly Finnish people,” Abzalov said, casting doubt that any Finnish “liberation” would “come to fruition in our time” amid a debate about whether this could be successful.
Video of the conversation was translated and posted to Twitter by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, on Saturday morning.
“Attention, Finland! Russian propagandists talk about the need to “liberate the brotherly Finnish people,” he tweeted.
Prior to Turkey approving Finland’s membership, Moscow had long warned against its NATO membership. Putin has blamed NATO’s eastward expansion on the Ukraine invasion, though Kyiv’s NATO membership continues to face roadblocks, including concerns about corruption.
In addition, Russia has warned it would take retaliatory steps against Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership, including the possibility of deploying nuclear weapons.
Newsweek reached out to NATO’s press office for comment via email.
