SYDNEY, May 13. /TASS/. Finland's accession to NATO will weaken the country's security by making it a priority target of Russian deterrent systems amid risks of NATO missile systems appearing in the Nordic state's territory, Australia's international politics expert Tony Kevin said on Friday.
Noting Finland and Sweden's aspirations to join NATO, Kevin said such a decision by Helsinki could be a real "historical tragedy." "Joining NATO will diminish Finland’s security. Helsinki will inevitably become a priority target of Russian deterrent missile systems, as Saint Petersburg becomes exposed to the risk of NATO missile batteries being installed in Finland," he pointed out.
The expert stressed that Finland "has played an active positive role in East-West detente diplomacy, hosting many important Russia-US ministerial and summit meetings." "The Helsinki Accords (the Helsinki Final Act - TASS) played a key role in easing the Cold War. But now, a new generation of young Finnish politicians without historical memory of the cruel Russo-Finnish wars that led to Finnish neutrality after 1945 [appeared]," Kevin said, also noting the negative impact of "the anti-Russian lies of western information warfare."
Tony Kevin is an Australian expert on international politics. He began his diplomatic career in Moscow in 1969. He also served as Australia’s ambassador to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Cambodia. Upon leaving the diplomatic service he dedicated himself to international political studies. Kevin has authored several books, including Return to Moscow (2017), in which he looks back on the years spent in Russia.