Kozin's opinions not those of Russia

It seems that telling the truth is still inadvisable in foreign policy discussions. The Russian embassy has stated (fi) that Senior Counselor Vladimir Kozin's views are his own, which he represented in his role as a researcher. Phew.

President Tarja Halonen saw it coming, saying already yesterday that Kozin's comments didn't represent Russia's official line. Ex-Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja was a bit flat-footed, though, when he wrote on his blog (fi) that there was "nothing new or surprising" about the statements in comparison to Russia's known views. (He also accused YLE's television news department of a pro-NATO scare campaign.)

Kozin's evaluation is of course correct in that Finland joining NATO would be a military threat from Russia's point of view. The NATO-Russia border would increase in length substantially and come closer to St Petersburg. Still, it's probably a good sign that official Russia isn't quite prepared to say this openly.

Update: And he's out of here. What a marvelous little episode!