Putin: Finland's best security guarantee is its neutrality
Russian President Vladimir Putin said after a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö that Finland's best security guarantee is to remain neutral.
The pair, meeting in Russia, talked about Ukraine and the economy, among other topics. “We think it is important for the principles of the Minsk agreement to be implemented. The role of OSCE observers is also important,” Putin said.
Niinistö also said the Minsk agreement must be fulfilled.
“The most important factor is that the Ukrainian constitution is changed in a way to give eastern Ukraine territories autonomy,” Putin said, adding that local elections and a general pardon for those who are fighting government forces, must also be pushed through.
Russia said it will put more than 40 new intercontinental missiles into service in 2015, in a possible reaction to an increased US presence in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the news “nuclear sabre-rattling,” adding that it is destabilizing and dangerous.
Editor: J.M. Laats