The Interfax agency reported that Finland's President Sauli Niinisto told his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in a phone call, his country's plans to join NATO, amid Russian objection to the Finnish move.

The Kremlin said that the two presidents exchanged views over the phone on Finland's intention to apply for NATO membership, as Putin considered that Finland's abandonment of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake, as there are no threats to its security, according to the statement.

Putin warned that such a change in Helsinki's foreign policy may have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which were built for years in the spirit of good-neighbourliness, cooperation and partnership, as described in the statement.

Regarding Ukraine, Putin informed his Finnish counterpart about the suspension of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, which, according to Putin, does not show interest in conducting a serious and constructive dialogue with Moscow.

For his part, the Finnish head of state said in a statement issued by the presidency, "The conversation was frank, direct and did not witness tension. Avoiding tension was considered important. The contact was made at the initiative of Finland."

Helsinki stressed that she "wanted to deal with the practical issues of being a neighboring country to Russia in a correct and professional manner."


Electricity

On Thursday, Finland's President and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced their country's desire to join NATO "without delay", with the candidacy expected to be announced on Sunday.

Helsinki said Sauli Niinisto told Vladimir Putin that Moscow's demand at the end of 2021 to freeze NATO expansion and then its invasion of Ukraine at the end of February changed "fundamentally the security environment for Finland".

It is also expected that Sweden will announce in the coming days its candidacy for NATO membership.

For his part, Alexander Grushko, Russian Assistant Foreign Minister, said that Moscow would take appropriate precautionary measures if NATO deployed nuclear forces and infrastructure near the Russian borders.

And the Interfax news agency quoted Grushko as saying that Russia has no aggressive intentions towards Finland and Sweden, and does not see any real reasons for the two countries to join NATO.

In the same context, an official in the Finnish electricity network told "AFP" (AFP) today, Saturday, that Russia has stopped electricity supplies to Finland.

The Russian supplier "Raw Nordic", which delivers electricity to Finland, announced on Friday its intention to stop the supply of electricity at midnight, noting that it had not received any payments in return.