The Kremlin said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin was open to the idea of restoring relations between Finland and Russia, which it accused Helsinki of reducing to "nearly zero" after it joined NATO.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, joined the NATO military alliance in 2023, which Moscow cast at the time as a dangerous historic mistake.
Finland shut its land border with Russia the same year, accusing Moscow of weaponising migration against the Nordic nation, an assertion the Kremlin denied. The Finnish government said last year it was extending the closure of land border crossings with Russia indefinitely.
On Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb - who has repeatedly warned about the need to be tough with Russia and take the threat he says it poses seriously - told his British counterpart Keir Starmer that Helsinki needed to "mentally prepare" for the restoration of ties with Russia at some point.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (800-mile) border with Russia, joined the NATO military alliance in 2023, which Moscow cast at the time as a dangerous historic mistake.
Finland shut its land border with Russia the same year, accusing Moscow of weaponising migration against the Nordic nation, an assertion the Kremlin denied. The Finnish government said last year it was extending the closure of land border crossings with Russia indefinitely.
On Monday, Finnish President Alexander Stubb - who has repeatedly warned about the need to be tough with Russia and take the threat he says it poses seriously - told his British counterpart Keir Starmer that Helsinki needed to "mentally prepare" for the restoration of ties with Russia at some point.
8 months ago
