Russia to suspend Finland electricity supply from weekend amid NATO membership rift

The move by Finland to join the NATO alliance has angered Russia who will be suspending all electricity supplies this weekend, a supplier said according to an AFP report. Tensions continue to rise between Russia and Finland as the latter continue their bid to join NATO – a move Russia has described as a ‘threat’. The decision came after Finland announced on Thursday that they want to join NATO ‘without delay’ – a stand that was strengthened by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“We are forced to suspend the electricity import starting from May 14,” RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian state energy holding Inter RAO said in a statement, according to AFP.

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“RAO Nordic is not able to make payments for the imported electricity from Russia,” they added,

“This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over 20 years of our trading history.”

Earlier, Russia expressed their displeasure at Finland’s urgency to join NATO. “The expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, according to Reuters.

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The Kremlin also made it clear that they will be “forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats” if Finland continue with their process to join NATO.

Finland is ready to cope in the event that Russia cuts off its supply of natural gas, the government's emergency preparedness committee said after a meeting on Friday.

"Finland is prepared for a suspension of Russian natural gas imports," the statement read.

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(With inputs from agencies)