Russia’s demands that NATO reduce its presence in countries on the eastern border are a test of US and European resolve during negotiations.
This was stated by Finland’s Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen, Bloomberg reports.
The official told journalists that Russia is trying to force European Alliance countries to limit their own operations for the sake of Russian interests, but such matters are not up for discussion.
He was responding to a report by the German newspaper Bild, which spoke of a Russian proposal to create a new European security architecture. In particular, it referred to Finland leaving NATO and the withdrawal of Alliance military bases from the Baltic states. According to the minister, even proposing such a thing is absolutely outrageous, and Russia knows it.
Commenting on two-day talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, Häkkänen said that in recent days Russia has dared to test how flexible the US and Europe are. In his view, Russia is not serious about peace talks, but is trying to expand its demands from the war in Ukraine to reshaping Europe’s security architecture to its own advantage.
The Finnish minister added that Western politicians must understand this is part of Russia’s decade-long psychological strategy of constantly changing the rules of the game during negotiations to make them unfavourable for the West. Häkkänen concluded that this bluff should not be indulged.