Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen (Reuters)

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen considered on Saturday that Russia, NATO, and the European Union are on the verge of a new Cold War.

In an interview for the French magazine L'Express, Kaikkonen said that "we are at the beginning of a very long new Cold War... Relations between Moscow and the EU with NATO will be bad for a very long time."

"Of course, we need to achieve a ceasefire, negotiations, and peace. But I do not think that this can happen now," he indicated, saying that Russians were different from Europeans.

"Firstly, they respect only strength. Secondly, their logic does not match ours. What seems reasonable [for Europeans] is not necessarily [reasonable] for them," Kaikkonen claimed.

In late September, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told journalists that Helsinki is "working" on new rules that would further harden the rules on Russian tourists.

A mechanism denying visas to Russians and rejecting entry to Russians who have them is already in place in Finland. Helsinki had also asked Brussels to allow EU states that deny entry to Russians to revoke their visas or place them on a Schengen entry ban list too.

It is noteworthy that in early October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will continue to freeze Sweden and Finland's bids for NATO membership until the promises made by the two Nordic countries are "kept".

What were the promises?

On June 28, the two Nordic countries signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding with Turkey in which they pledge to address Ankara’s concerns over their stance toward the PKK, YPG, and the Gulen movements.

One request vs. a long list of conditions
While #Turkey had a long list of conditions from #Finland and #Sweden, all the two Nordic states wanted was to join #NATO.
Here's your guide to understanding on what basis the agreement was made. pic.twitter.com/Aw7Jtu7frp
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 28, 2022

In the memorandum, Sweden and Finland had agreed to lift their embargoes on weapons deliveries to Turkey, which were imposed in response to Ankara's 2019 military incursion into Syria.

Erdogan's office said in late June that Sweden and Finland will ban "fundraising and recruitment activities" for the Kurdish militants and "prevent terrorist propaganda against Turkey."

The statement mentioned that Finland and Sweden also agreed to cooperate with Turkey on the deportation and extradition of "terrorism suspects".

On July 21, Turkey announced the establishment of a "permanent committee" to meet with Finnish and Swedish officials in August and review whether the two countries are meeting Ankara's conditions for ratifying their NATO membership aspirations.