Due to the decision on Finland’s entry into NATO, gas supplies from Russia to this country may be stopped as early as Friday, May 13, writes Iltalehti, citing high-ranking officials in the country.
The publication notes that presumably the termination of supplies was expected on May 23, when the next payment deadline comes. However, Hjallis Harkimo and Ville Tavio, members of the Finnish parliament, admit that the shutdown could happen sooner. According to the newspaper, the cessation of Russian gas supplies “will cause serious problems” for a number of Finnish businesses and food production.
The newspaper Helsingin Sanomat at the end of last month, referring to the Minister of State Property and Relations with EU Tytti Tuppurainen said that Finland does not plan to pay for Russian gas in rubles, and accordingly, it is preparing to cut off gas supplies from Russia. Finnish Gasum must notify Moscow of this decision by May 20. On May 10, the authorities of Estonia and Finland signed an agreement on security in the field of natural gas supplies, writes BB.LV.
Finland’s accession to NATO will strengthen security and stability in the Baltic Sea and Northern European region, declared Foreign Minister Pek Haavisto in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament. At the same time, he noted that Finland is the guarantor of regional security and will further strengthen NATO as a future ally. Mr Haavisto said that “the war that started in Russia has endangered the security and stability of all of Europe” and added that “the Russian invasion of Ukraine has damaged the security environment, “although Finland does not face an immediate military threat.”
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