Relations between Russia and Finland will not improve in the near future, we are talking about decades. This was stated by permanent member of the Security Council, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on environmental protection, ecology and transport Sergey Ivanov.
"I worked and lived in Finland in Soviet times — then the relations were diametrically opposed to the current ones, now they practically do not exist. <> Not in the near future [relations between the Russian Federation and Finland will not get better], it's for a long time, for decades. Finland is a NATO member, it is actively calling for the strengthening of the eastern border, as they say in NATO, it is building fences, just as Poland is building on the border with Belarus and with us in the Kaliningrad region," he told TASS.
Ivanov noted that the decision to spoil relations with Russia was made by the Finnish government, and the citizens of the country themselves suffer from this.
"This is the choice of the Finnish government, I don't think it's the choice of the Finnish people, because there are moans and complaints, especially from southeastern Finland, where depopulation is taking place, because there is nothing to do there without Russian tourists, everything has collapsed, there is no economy and there cannot be. I think over time they will begin to realize that good—neighborly relations with Russia are much more beneficial for Finland than their complete absence and hostility, as is happening now," he said.