Finland: Politicians warned that Russia will cut off gas pipeline
2 Min Read
This comes amid Finland and Sweden's plans to join NATO.
-
Russia is Finland's main provider of natural gas.
Prominent Finnish politicians have been warned that Russia could be cutting the line on gas supplies to its close neighbor, according to Finnish newspaper Iltalehti on Thursday.
There were no details regarding where exactly the warning had come from.
The Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto, and the Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, revealed Thursday that Finland will be joining the aggressive military alliance NATO "without delay". Yesterday, Russia warned that the two countries will become possible targets if admitted into the alliance.
Read more: Finland, Sweden to apply for NATO, will "quickly" receive approval
Most of the gas in Finland is imported from Russia - however, gas consumption only accounts for about 5% of Finland's total energy consumption by year.
For Finland, losing most of Russian gas supply would mean that Neste and Metsa, both industry giants, in addition to other companies affiliated with forestry, chemical and food industries, would need to seek alternative gas sources.
On May 5, the Finnish government said it was prepared in any case if Moscow decides to cut off gas delivery in May as Helsinki refused to pay for gas payments in Russian rubles.
Finland and other Baltic states are more reliant on Russian gas than other European countries - Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania would have to subsequently reduce gas demand.
