The Russian embassy in Helsinki said that bilateral relations with Finland were practically destroyed against the backdrop of the country’s entry into NATO .
The embassy indicated that trade and economic relations were minimized back in 2022, since the Finnish authorities made it as difficult as possible to do business with Russia, including by joining the sanctions of the European Union .
On April 4, Finland officially became a member of NATO. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attended the ceremony of the country’s official entry into the alliance . He accepted the protocols on the accession of the country ratified by other members of the alliance.
“In practice, by the time Helsinki joined the alliance, the base of the once close and mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation between our countries had already been almost completely destroyed by the efforts of the Finnish side. Trade and economic ties were minimized back in 2022 as a result of the actions of the Finnish leadership, which made it as difficult as possible to do business with Russia, including by joining the illegitimate EU sanctions,” the diplomatic mission emphasized.
Rosstat data for 2021 shows that Finland was the sixth largest trading partner of the Russian Federation in the European Union after Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Poland. The foreign trade turnover of the Russian Federation and Finland then amounted to more than $13 billion.
Russian Trade Representative in Helsinki Anton Loginov said in December last year that against the backdrop of ongoing sanctions, bilateral trade in 2023 could decrease to €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion).
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According to the Helsinki Stock Exchange, the losses of Finnish companies from leaving the Russian market exceed €4 billion. Among the most affected are the energy company Fortum, construction company YIT and tire manufacturer Nokian Tires.