Finnish President Signals Russia May Leave Demilitarized Islands

Annmarie Hordern and Kati Pohjanpalo
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto declined to rule out shuttering Russia’s consulate on the demilitarized archipelago of Aland in response to Moscow closing Finland’s biggest consulate.

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When Russia last week told Finland to shut down its St. Petersburg mission, Helsinki vowed to retaliate, signaling it might boot diplomats from the consulate in Turku on the southwest coast. Yet a public outcry has instead focused on the Aland Islands, which sit in a strategic position on the Baltic Sea, with questions raised on why Russia should be allowed such a presence on NATO territory, monitoring that they remain free from military activity.

Read More: Finland Plots Retaliation as Russia Orders Consulate Closing

“We will see,” Niinisto said in an interview on Bloomberg TV on Tuesday when asked whether the Aland consulate could be shuttered, and describing the diplomatic mission as “one consul and his wife.”

“In Turku they have a bigger consulate and that would be similar to St. Petersburg,” he said. “But we haven’t taken a decision yet. At least Turku is clearly on the table.”

Finland acceded to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in April, having applied together with Sweden in May 2022, just after Russia launched its war on Ukraine. With Sweden’s path to membership cleared on Monday, the alliance is set to control much of the Baltic Sea and give NATO better access to reinforce Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with military support in the event of a crisis.

“After Finland and Sweden joining NATO, the Baltic Sea will be peaceful,” Niinisto said. “It’s to guarantee peace for the Baltic Sea countries. That’s the idea.”

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