Russia today summoned Finland's ambassador to express its concerns about a new defence agreement between Helsinki and Washington, the Russian foreign ministry has said.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said officials informed the ambassador that Moscow would "take the necessary measures to counter the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies", notably the growing NATO military presence near its border.
"Russia will not leave unanswered the NATO military build-up on our border which threatens the security of the Russian Federation, and will undertake the necessary measures for countering the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies.
"Responsibility for turning the zone of good-neighbourliness in this region into a zone of possible confrontation lies entirely with the current Finnish authorities".
"Russia will not leave unanswered the NATO military build-up on our border which threatens the security of the Russian Federation, and will undertake the necessary measures for countering the aggressive decisions of Finland and its NATO allies.
"Responsibility for turning the zone of good-neighbourliness in this region into a zone of possible confrontation lies entirely with the current Finnish authorities".
