THE admission of Finland and Sweden into Nato could be the catalyst needed to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, according to a former senior British Army officer.

Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said Russia will now have to consider a new 800-mile border with Nato when Finland is admitted.

He was commenting after both countries signed accession protocols ahead of full integration into the alliance in around a year’s time.

Mr de Bretton-Gordon told GB News: “He [Putin] didn’t expect that Nato would expand particularly with Sweden and Finland and didn’t expect that Ukraine would start accession to the European Union.

“I think this is a hugely significant day. Hopefully, it’ll make people in this country feel that much safer, as well as making Europe safer and really giving Putin some really challenging things to think about.

“Since he invaded Ukraine in February, he has focused all his forces, all his might in that area. Now he has a huge headache, but he’s got an 800 mile border in the north with a Nato country, that being Finland.”

Speaking during an interview with Darren McCaffery on GB News, he added: “He’d never had to worry about that in the past and with his forces so thinly stretched, hopefully this might be the catalyst to make him stop thinking that actually, this illegal invasion is probably something that he now needs to consider in great detail on where to go next.

“And hopefully, it might get them to the negotiation table sooner than if Finland and Sweden had not joined Nato.”

The Russians have made gains in the east of Ukraine but that should change with the arrival over the coming few weeks of advanced Nato weaponry, said Mr de Bretton-Gordon.

“The Russians have made progress and are pushing Ukraine and Ukrainian military forces are falling back., so that is an area of concern,” he said.

“I think what will change over the next few weeks is that I think we’re all aware that some very significant weaponry coming from the UK and other Nato countries, predominantly the longer range multi-role rocket launchers which can fire over 50 miles, will give them back an advantage.

“So hopefully, we will start to see the Ukraine pressing again in the next few weeks, with this added weaponry that they’re getting.”

He added: “We know that a lot of their gunners have been trained in the UK, in fact trained in Salisbury where I’m speaking to you from now.

“Presumably they will be now back in Ukraine with their new weaponry and that can start having an impact.

“It is a fine point that we’re on but with this Nato increase with Finland and Sweden, both of which have very sophisticated, very important, and very large militaries, will hopefully start to tip the balance back in favour of Nato and back in favour of the Ukraine people.”