Finland hinted that it would not dare to apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "NATO", for fear of angering Russia.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto predicted that Finland could face massive cyber attacks, and even a military response from the Russian army, if his country applied to join NATO, according to the British newspaper, "Daily Mail".
Moscow had warned Helsinki not to provoke it in this regard, speaking of dire military consequences.
The two countries share a border of more than 1,330 km in length.
Niinistö said that Moscow may send a mighty military force to his country's territory, destabilizing it, or attack it via the Internet if it requests to join the military alliance.
Finland's president's comments come at a time when opinion polls showed the majority of the country's population supported joining NATO, despite Russia's threats.
A poll conducted earlier this March showed that 62 percent of Finns support joining the alliance, after the percentage was at 53 percent at the start of the Ukraine war on February 24.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova had warned Finland and Sweden of "dangerous military repercussions" if they launched an attempt to join the alliance.
"Finland and Sweden should not base their security on harming the security of other countries," she said.
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- Agencies