This provided additional arguments for the Russian side.
Matti Pesu from the Institute of International Relations (Finland) emphasizes in an interview that even if international communication aims to highlight the threat from Russia, it is important to maintain accuracy in historical facts and comparisons.
Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (KP) and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell in their recent statements used surprisingly similar rhetoric regarding Russian attacks. However, their remarks contain historical inaccuracies.
On December 8, Valtonen stated in an interview with the American television channel CBS:
"In the last hundred years, no neighboring country has attacked Russia. In the last hundred years, Russia has attacked 19 neighbors."
In turn, Kalas noted at the end of November:
"In the last hundred years, Russia has attacked more than 19 different countries, some three or four times. None of these countries has ever attacked Russia."
Senior researcher at the Institute of International Relations Matti Pesu points out in an interview with Yle News that Valtonen's statement is historically inaccurate.
"Yes, it was an attack, although the then leadership of Finland considered it justified and saw no other options," says Pesu, referring to Finland's actions in 1941 during the Continuation War.
In 1941, Finland attacked the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa, which was conducted by Germany. This was driven by the desire to regain territories lost in the Winter War.
"Finland had serious concerns and fears about an aggressive USSR, and it sought to regain lost lands and possibly gain a little more," explains the researcher.
The similarity of the statements raises questions about possible coordination of the communication strategy.
Pesu believes that Finnish politicians are actively reaching out to the U.S., emphasizing the threat from Russia.
"Our leadership – the president, the foreign minister – actively builds communication specifically towards the United States, highlighting the Russian threat. This is related to the desire to involve the U.S. as much as possible in supporting the European line and Ukraine in the peace process," notes Pesu.
In his opinion, it is possible that Valtonen heard Kalas's speech and repeated it.
Valtonen did not acknowledge the inaccuracy of her words in an interview with Ilta-Sanomat. This has already been exploited by Russian propaganda.
"This provided additional arguments for the Russian side," notes Pesu.
Pesu emphasizes that even when aiming to highlight the threat from Russia in international communication, it is important to maintain accuracy in historical facts and comparisons.
"Such inaccuracies slightly undermine trust in the message.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/17TOO6DvS9o?si=qHt_x3GuJLpLC-Ko" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
