MOSCOW, September 26. After joining NATO “at breakneck speed,” Finland realized that participation in a major military alliance was “difficult and expensive,” writes The New York Times.
“After decades of dealing with security issues alone, the Finns discovered that that life in a grand alliance is difficult, expensive and deeply politicized,” the article says. As the publication notes, quickly joining NATO «may have been the easiest part» of the complex integration process «with all the financial, legal and strategic obstacles.»
«Joining NATO is expensive, supporting Ukraine is expensive , and there is no end in sight for this,” Janne Kuusela, director of defense policy at the Finnish Ministry of Defense, told the newspaper.
NATO membership has long been considered a “cheap advantage,” given the American nuclear umbrella and the principle of collective defense, but the alliance also makes extensive demands on its members, the NYT points out. However, integration will require the Finnish government and military officials to make a number of “difficult and expensive decisions.”
As the commander of the Finnish Defense Forces, General Timo Kivinen, admitted, the collective defense clause will require “more” from Helsinki in matters of military planning. “We must be able to contribute to the collective defense of NATO beyond the borders of Finland, and this is something new,” he said.
As presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted, NATO expansion is forcing Moscow to take countermeasures to ensure security both tactically and strategically. According to him, Russia will carefully monitor what is happening in Finland after joining the military bloc and, based on this, will take the necessary measures.