Russia demanded Finland's withdrawal from NATO as part of the peace talks on Ukraine, according to a report in Bild. Moscow officially rejects this: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he knew nothing of it, that no such proposal had been made and certainly had not been discussed.

Finland's Defence Minister Antti Häkkänen called even the suggestion outrageous and viewed Russia's demand for a reduced NATO presence in the countries bordering Russia as a test of the resolve of the US and Europe. Moscow's other alleged demands include territorial concessions from Ukraine, restrictions on NATO in the Baltics and changes for Moldova.

Finland joined NATO in April 2023 and has the longest land border with Russia of any NATO state. Vladimir Putin had said that Russia had had no problems with the country before it joined, but that now there would be some.

Key points:

• On 13 November Bild reported that Russia had demanded Finland's withdrawal from NATO as part of the peace talks on Ukraine.
• Russian representatives are said to have made the demand during unspecified informal talks on ending the war.
• Russia officially denied the report.

Source: Meduza (English)