Finland Times

The minister was speaking in an interview with the Yle TV breakfast programme when he expressed his hope that the situation in the region would not escalate into armed conflict after Sunday's referendum.

Haglund warned that the situation in the region is so tense that even a slight incident can lead to conflict.  "Even a small thing can lead to it," said the Minister.

Haglund believed that all kinds of possible sanctions against Russia are detrimental to Finland because the Finnish economy is more reliant on Russian trade than any other European state.

The Minister, however, emphasised that if the European Union does impose sanctions on Russia, then Finland will have to stand beside EU.

According to Haglund’s assessment, Russia fears that the new Ukrainian administration would terminate the agreement with Russia to maintain its military base in Crimea which runs up to 2017.

Haglund welcomes the notion that Finland's possible military cooperation with Sweden has been brought to limelight following the Ukraine's crisis.

The Minister added that in case of a joint military cooperation Russia is likely to be provoked less than if Finland and Sweden join NATO.