Putin: Russia will react if Finland joins NATO

President Putin said Moscow would have a "necessary reaction" if NATO absorbed Finland, moving closer to Russia's borders.

Russian Air Force Mig-31 multi-role fighter. Photo: Sputnik.

Putin said yesterday that although Russia respects Finland's decision if it joins NATO, it will be forced to react accordingly, according to RT. The Russian president met with his counterpart Sauli Niinisto in the resort of Kultaranta, Finland.

"The Finnish president made a proposal to me on strengthening trust and preventing conflicts in the Baltic skies. I agreed to this proposal and will talk to NATO at the summit in Brussels," Putin said.

Accordingly, Russia and Finland agreed to establish security measures in the Baltic airspace such as requiring fighter jets not to turn off their identification devices, something Russia and NATO often do. However, Mr. Putin also noted that NATO conducts "stealth" flights twice as much as Russia in the Baltic.

Russia and the United States have had several encounters in the Baltic Sea in recent times. On April 30, Russia said it had deployed fighter jets to intercept a US aircraft approaching its border over the Baltic Sea because the US aircraft had turned off its transponder, which is used for identification.

However, the Pentagon said the US Air Force RC-135 was flying a routine route in international airspace and was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 fighter jet in an "unsafe and unprofessional" manner. The Russian plane came within 30 meters of the US plane and performed a roll above it.

Russia denied the accusations and said it was used to "insults" from the Pentagon.

According to VNE