Ex-President Ahtisaari doubts Russia would oppose Finnish NATO membership

Reiterates support for joining alliance

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Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari does not believe that Russia would have anything against a possible decision by Finland to join NATO.
      “It is also hard to imagine that Russia would have anything against it, because that way we would get rid of talk of Finlandisation around the world”, Ahtisaari said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in London on Tuesday.
      He also noted that Russian President Boris Yeltsin once even apologised for earlier Soviet interference in Finnish affairs.
      “If we want to get rid of the past, so that Finland would never be called Finlandised again, then one might imagine that Russia would have an interest in helping, as a neighbour and as a friend.”
      Ahtisaari’s view deviates from the mainstream. The conflict in Georgia is seen to show in a concrete manner that Russia, with a consciousness of its power, does not look kindly on the expansion of NATO into its nearby areas.
     
Ahtisaari has felt for many years that Finland should join NATO to be in the company of the other Western democracies.
      The conflict in Georgia and Russia’s new power politics do not, in Ahtisaari’s opinion, give any reason to change this view.
      “The question is not about day-to-day politics. It is a principled stand, and it is not based on a view that we would somehow be threatened by Russia. We are not under threat”, Ahtisaari said.
      He said that talk about threats is “wasted discussion”.
      According to the former President, Finland needs to be a participant at all negotiating tables and organisations where the Western democracies are.
      “NATO operates on the basis of joint decisions. Nobody is pushed around by any country”, Ahtisaari said.
     
In Ahtisaari’s view, Finland seems to be a “stowaway” in many matters by avoiding taking responsibility - in security policy as well as development aid, which is not at the same level as that of the other Nordic Countries.
      “There aren’t very many of these oddities - countries that say that they belong to the Western democracies, but which are not part of all of the organisations. I think that this also applies to Sweden. I see no reason why we could not join NATO: Norway is already there, and so are Denmark and Iceland”.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Stubb NATO comments raise questions (2.9.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat