Medvedev Threatens to Renegotiate WWII Border Treaty with Finland, citing NATO Expansion
Moscow – Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, has threatened to abandon Russia’s post-World War II settlement with Finland, accusing Helsinki of aligning with NATO to prepare for potential attacks on Russian territory. In a statement published by TASS on June 20, 2024, Medvedev asserted Russia has “every legal right” to revise the agreement.
The comments echo rhetoric from Vladimir Putin prior to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where he argued Ukraine could become a staging ground for strikes against Russia if it joined NATO. The Kremlin continues to frame its actions in Ukraine as a “preventive response” to Western aggression.
Medvedev’s statement comes amid increased Russian military activity near its borders with NATO members. In June 2024, Finnish media outlet Yle reported satellite imagery revealed expansion of Russian military infrastructure near the finnish border. The Wall Street Journal reported in april 2024 that Russia was deploying new equipment and troops to bases along its NATO border, demonstrating a capacity to continue its war in Ukraine while concurrently strengthening its forces along the Finnish border.
Further signaling a heightened perception of threat, an article published in February 2024 by the Russian Foreign Ministry journal International Affairs urged Moscow to consider the Baltic Sea a “potential theater of military operations.” Author Nikolai Mezhevich claimed that Baltic and northern european countries, including Finland, were creating a “grey zone” in the Baltic Sea.
