Mayor of Finland's Border Town Mulls Placing NATO Base Directly on Russia's Doorstep

Moscow has repeatedly warned that any deployment of NATO troops in Finland and Sweden, which recently requested membership to the bloc, will be met by a "reciprocal response". NATO has refused to rule out deploying nuclear weapons to the new members.

The Finnish city of Lappeenranta – which is in direct vicinity of the Russian border - may host a NATO military base once the country is accepted into the alliance, its mayor Kimmo Jarva has stated in an interview with Yle.

According to Jarva, discussions regarding the prospect kicked off in the city soon after Helsinki began mulling joining the bloc.

The mayor has even come up with some ideas regarding a potential location for the future base, despite admitting he was not competent in the military sphere.

"I've been thinking about, for example, the airport. It is certainly available if the defense forces so desire. I can't say anything about place for deployment of defense forces since I'm not an expert,” he explained.

Nor is Jarva apparently proficient in modern geopolitics and Russia's posture regarding NATO military bases near its borders. Moscow has specifically warned that it will be forced to offer a "tit-for-tat response" if such bases pop up in Finland and Sweden – the latest NATO membership applicants.

Oblivious to potential implications of placing a military base in Lappeenranta, Jarva suggested that the move will in fact offer a "sense of security" and "hope" to its residents and will also prompt confidence among local businesses.

Jarva's hopes of a NATO military presence might not, however, come to fruition, as Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto earlier stated that the country has no current need to deploy NATO military forces on its territory. He stressed that the actual situation at the border with Russia, which the alliance recently dubbed a "threat", is "safe".

NATO leadership, however, is more hawkish, having announced the increase of its rapid deployment force from 40,000 to 300,000.

NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that heavy weaponry will be deployed along NATO's borders with Russia for the "defense" of the alliance's eastern flank. The military bloc also refused to rule out the deployment of nuclear weapons in the territory of the newest applicants, Sweden and Finland, despite fears it might provoke Russia.