Russia has cut off its natural gas exports to Finland in a symbolic move – NPR

On Saturday, Russia cut off gas exports to Finland following Helsinki’s refusal to pay for the gas in rubles, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded European countries do since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Finland’s energy ties with Russia are all but gone after decades of beneficial cooperation for both Helsinki and Moscow.

Matti Vanhanen, the former Finnish prime minister and current speaker of Parliament, said Moscow’s decision to cut off gas to Finland marks the end of an important period in Finland-Russia relations.

Vanhanen said Moscow’s gas stoppage with Finland was not retaliatory, but rather a countermove to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.

Finland and Russia share a long border and a conflict-ridden history. In World War II, Finland opted for neutrality.

It is an interesting time in Finnish-Russian relations considering many ethnic Russians live in Finland. Many thousands more fled to Finland as Putin was starting his invasion for correct fears that they might become stuck inside Russia.

Finland applied to join NATO on Friday, and it is assumed that the move on the part of Russia is also being done as a retaliation for not staying neutral. A stance that Finland took following the Warsaw act of Post WWII Europe.

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