Finnish President Says There is 'Major Escalation Risk' in Europe as Country Debates NATO Membership

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Finland is looking into ways of enhancing its security amid events in Ukraine but realizes that the option of joining NATO is linked to a risk of escalation in Europe, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Sunday.

"The starting point is that we are looking at something else than continuing just like this," Niinisto told Financial Times.

Finland now is a member of the European Union but not NATO. Its two main options moving forward are either to join NATO or boost the military cooperation with the United States and neighbouring Sweden without joining the alliance, Niinisto was cited as saying.

"All these alternatives have an advantage that our security will improve," he said. "I understand very well that, for example, [joining] NATO might seem like our worries are over. But all the different alternatives include risks we have to recognise ... At the moment the major risk is escalation of the situation in Europe."

Finland will ultimately put its security first when making the decision, the president said.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in defending themselves against the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the operation was targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.