“We will not be able to leave possible decisions by the Finnish Government in this area unanswered. Russia will take concrete steps taking into account the real threats that these actions entail for our security,” the diplomat said in an interview with the TASS news agency.

“Nevertheless, we hope that reason will prevail,” Kuznetsov pointed out when asked about the possible future presence of NATO nuclear weapons on Finnish territory, adding that the Finns must understand that such a serious provocative step will not go unanswered by Russia.

Furthermore, he explained that in the spring of 2025, Finnish authorities plan to start analyzing a draft law to amend the Nuclear Energy Act, “mainly in the interests of domestic civil energy, in particular for the construction of mini nuclear power plants.”

“In this regard, the possibility of canceling the ban on the import of nuclear weapons is being discussed. Under current conditions, some local politicians claim that nothing should hinder the bloc’s possible operations, if they are considered necessary,” Kuznetsov noted.

He added that in late autumn 2024, the Finnish Government plans to decide whether the proposal to cancel or adjust the nuclear weapons rule will be included in the next draft law.

“The document itself will continue to be studied for quite some time,” the ambassador pointed out.

“In Finnish society, according to polls, the idea of the presence of foreign nuclear weapons on the country’s territory does not have unanimous support. The possible deployment of nuclear weapons in Finland now has 20 percent support,” the Russian diplomat concluded.

jg/ro/gfa