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US won’t ask for permission to deploy NATO infrastructure to Finland — Lavrov

Moscow is keeping a close eye on the situation, the Russian Foreign Minister noted

MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. The United States won’t ask Finland’s opinion if it decides to deploy NATO infrastructure to the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Monday.

"If the Americans decide to deploy NATO military infrastructure there, I don’t think they will consult the [Finnish foreign] minister," Lavrov said, commenting on Finnish top diplomat Pekka Haavisto’s statement that there was no need to deploy NATO forces to the country at the moment.

"We are keeping a close eye on the situation, which - I would like to stress once again - does not pose a threat to our security at this point. We will certainly assess any further steps [by Finland] in terms of the need to ensure Russia’s security," the Russian foreign minister added. "When Finland was committed to neutrality, which proved effective in the past, he [Haavisto] made the relevant statements. But as soon as NATO announced that it was interested in providing membership to Finland and Sweden, his position changed," Lavrov noted.

On May 18, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO. They were supposed to receive an invitation to join at the bloc’s Madrid summit, but Turkey's veto blocked the process. On June 28, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg held negotiations in Madrid. As a result, Turkey rescinded its veto, and subsequently the three parties signed a memorandum paving the way for Sweden and Finland to join NATO.

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Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Ministry United States NATO

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