Security in Europe

Kremlin: Nuclear weapons in Finland a threat to Russia

Nuclear weapons on Finnish territory would be perceived as a threat to Russia. This is what the Kremlin says, after Finland yesterday opened up to lifting the ban on placing nuclear weapons in the country, writes AFP.

At the same time, President Alexander Stubb clarifies that the Finnish proposal does not automatically mean that nuclear weapons will be placed in Finland. Instead, he believes that it is about Finnish legislation being in line with the rest of the Nordic countries.

– Finland does not want nuclear weapons on its territory and there are no such plans within NATO. Finland will therefore not become a nuclear weapons state, he tells Swedish Yle.

Finland wants to relax nuclear weapons restrictions

The Finnish government wants to remove the total ban on nuclear weapons that currently applies in the country. This was announced by Minister of Defense Antti Häkkänen at a press conference according to SVT Nyheter.

– Such a total ban is quite unusual among NATO member states, he says.

Today's ban applies to the manufacture, import, storage and transport of nuclear weapons. To lift it, amendments to the Nuclear Energy Act and the Criminal Code are required.

Exactly what legal changes are planned is unclear. The government is to submit a proposal to the Riksdag next week.