Russia can shut down gas supplies to Finland today, but that won’t stop it
Russia may cut off its gas supplies to Finland as of today as its north-western neighbor seeks to join the NATO alliance, Foxnews reported yesterday.
Finnish politicians have raised the alarm that Moscow could block the country's energy deliveries as soon as Friday, but officials say they are prepared for that possibility, according to Iltalehti news. Finland, traditionally a neutral country, has entered the more complex arena of geopolitics and is the latest to have received threats from Russia.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden announced that they would consider joining NATO to bolster their security due to instability problems in Europe.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Thursday that Finland should start the NATO candidacy process "without delay".
“NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance, ”the leaders said in a joint statement.
Russia has threatened to place nuclear and hypersonic missile systems along the northwestern border with Finland if Helsinki and Stockholm move to expand NATO.
Finland said it was ready to stop supplying Russian gas, also because it is only a minor part of its energy mix. only 5% of Helsinki's electricity comes from gas. Moreover, Finland had already announced that it would not join the gas payment for rubles.
The move was an attempt to bolster Russia's crippled economy after it was slapped with stiff international sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow cut off gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria after they refused to comply with Putin's tax demands. The Finnish government does not comment on the threat for now.
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The article Russia May Shut Down Gas Supplies to Finland Today, But That Won't Stop It comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-russia-puo-chiudere-le-forniture-di-gas-alla-finlandia-oggi-ma-questo-non-la-fermera/ on Fri, 13 May 2022 06:00:40 +0000.