Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has reacted with shock at the Russian military intervention in Ukraine. “Despite the omens, this morning was a great shock, and our condolences go out to the Ukrainian people,” the president said.
He also said it is understandable that Finns want to join the NATO alliance right away, but that is an unreal plan, according to the president, and is not on the agenda now.
Finland has a difficult relationship with its large neighbour from which it seceded in 1917. Finland and the Soviet Union went to war twice between 1939 and 1944.
Finland ceded territory to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and followed a policy of strict neutrality during the Cold War (1947-1989).
