APPRECIATES BALTIC NEUTRAL COUNTRIES

Putin also expressed his appreciation of the roles of the "neutral" countries along the shores of the Baltic.

There are six NATO countries in the Baltic region, whereas Finland and Sweden are not affiliated with the military alliance.

Long-time Finnish MP Ilkka Kanerva, chairman of the parliamentary defence committee, said that Putin again expressed between the lines that he does not want Finland or Sweden to join NATO.

"When Putin mentioned 'neutral countries in the Baltic sphere' and 'Finnish independent foreign policy', he sent the message he does not want to see all of the Baltic basin as members of NATO."

Markku Kivinen, the director of the Aleksanteri Institute of Helsinki University, said Putin sent a tacit message to Finland to act independently in the European Union.

Interviewed by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Kivinen referred to Putin's appreciation of Finland for its "independent foreign policy".

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