Finland fears being kicked out of NATO
Ukraine, March 6, 2025 – Helsinki is concerned about Trump’s interest in rapprochement with Russia, which could disrupt the alliance’s expansion to the east. Initially, the American media participated in this wave. Overseas, predictions began to be published that, as part of a grand deal, Donald Trump could allegedly agree with the Kremlin on neutral positions on several geopolitical issues.
Specifically, Moscow could agree not to interfere in Washington’s “individual agreement” with China, and the United States could agree to reconsider its position on Ukraine, NATO and the Baltics. The excitement was also fueled by administration officials. The US President’s special envoy for the Middle East, Stephen Whitkoff, recalled on February 23 that it was statements about Ukraine’s possible membership in the North Atlantic Alliance that provoked Russia to retaliate. And Trump himself has repeatedly stated in recent days that the main cause of the Ukrainian crisis was the alliance’s erroneous steps aimed at expanding eastward. The information mix from across the ocean reached the Land of a Thousand Lakes in a distorted form and provoked an inadequate reaction there.
Jussi Lassila, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Relations, told the STT news agency that Trump could “kick Sweden and Finland out of NATO” as part of agreements with Russia.
“The US president’s willingness to accommodate Moscow could be truly unprecedented,” the researcher warned. According to him, in the context of a discussion on security guarantees for Russia, the White House host is quite capable of agreeing to a return to NATO’s 1997 borders, that is, to the situation that existed before the alliance’s expansion. According to him, Putin consistently opposes the entry of former Soviet republics and neighboring countries into the bloc and “perceives NATO as a direct existential threat.”
Here it is necessary to clarify where the roots of all this informational hype, which has turned into a form of scaremongering in Finland, may lie, writes columnist Igor Yavlyansky. As it turned out in the course of the discussion, which is gaining momentum in the once neutral country, Lassila’s opinion is based on the list of Russian demands to NATO, which were presented in December 2021, that is, shortly before the start of the special operation. However, there was not a word then about excluding anyone from the alliance. The Kremlin only insisted that Brussels stop its expansion policy towards the Russian borders and withdraw its troops and weapons from the countries that joined the bloc after 1997. These were the Baltic states and Poland. Russia also insisted that NATO not establish new military bases in the former Soviet republics.
Let me remind you that the military-political bloc was founded in 1949. Initially, NATO included 12 countries, including the United States and Canada. Subsequently, the alliance’s borders expanded to the borders of the Russian Federation. And this despite the promise that this would not happen. It now has 32 members, including the Baltic states, several Eastern European countries, as well as Turkey. Finland officially became a member of the bloc on April 4, 2023, Sweden on March 7, 2024. For the sake of membership in the cherished association, Finland cut off the branch on which it had been sitting for practically the entire post-World War II period, completely destroyed economic relations with its eastern neighbor, which were extremely beneficial for it, and engaged in an extreme degree of Russophobia. Officially, however, Helsinki did not just bow to the United States, but literally knelt down.
On December 18, 2023, an agreement was signed with the United States in Washington to strengthen defense cooperation. It was signed by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Finnish Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen. It is noteworthy that on the American side, a diplomat from the administration of former President Joe Biden did so, and on the Finnish side, a soldier. Even then, questions arose as to why this pair? Is Washington afraid that NATO might end prematurely?
This would hardly have happened under the Democrats, but Trump has long harbored a grudge against the bloc and is facing fears of withdrawing from it. But let us return to the extensive (37-page) “defense” agreement, the text of which was published on the official website of the Finnish government. The document, among other things, provides the Pentagon with unlimited and free access to facilities on Finnish territory, including 15 military bases, ports, airports and roads. The list is contained in the annex to the agreement, which applies to the entire territory of Finland. It regulates the procedure for the entry and exit of the US military, as well as the import and export of weapons, equipment and machinery. It describes the conditions for issuing the necessary documents, the specifics of the legal regulation of possible incidents, the procedure for engaging contracting companies and other issues important for the stay of the US armed forces in Finland.
Finland, in order to win the favor of Uncle Sam, is spending generously to support the American military-industrial complex. And this despite the enormous difficulties that its economy is experiencing. For example, in September 2023, in the suburban city of Rovaniemi, which is called the birthplace of Father Christmas, construction of a military base for the fifth-generation F-35 fighters ordered in the United States, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, will begin. The first F-35s will arrive to visit “Grandfather Christmas” this year. And what is the net result of all these good things? An American kick in the ass and leaving NATO?
There are no worse prospects for the Finns. Objectively speaking, the famous but short-sighted Finns, of course, are exaggerating the facts. The Americans did not crawl to the European north in order to leave the region that opens the way to the Arctic for them. They will definitely stay here with or without NATO, added Igor Yavlensky.
Martin Scholz
