"The Russian offensive against and in Georgia is an act of aggression that is incompatible with international law and fundamental principles of security and cooperation in Europe," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt in a statement on Saturday.
"We - and Russia - will have to live with the consequences of Russia's use of force for a long time to come.
"The justification given by Russia is that it is protecting Russian nationals, but the obligation to protect people - irrespective of their nationality - lies with the state in which those individuals are located. No state has a right to intervene militarily in the territory of another state simply because there are individuals there with a passport issued by that state or who are nationals of that state.
"Attempts to apply such a doctrine have plunged Europe into war in the past - and that is why it is so important that this doctrine is emphatically dismissed. The same doctrine can be equally dangerous in other situations.
"We did not accept military intervention by Milosevic's Serbia in other former Yugoslav states on the grounds of protecting Serbian passport holders. And we have reason to remember how Hitler used this very doctrine little more than half a century ago to undermine and attack substantial parts of central Europe.
"It is important now to demand an immediate end to the bombing raids, immediate withdrawal of the Russian troops that have entered Georgia and the establishment of political contacts to bring about a peaceful solution. As chair of the OSCE, Finland has a particularly important role to play."