The government of Finland, another country that shares borders with Russia, announced this Sunday that will formally apply for NATO membershipin a move that had already aroused Moscow’s anger.
The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and the Finnish government formally approved this Sunday at a meeting the request for entry of the Nordic country, which is expected to be ratified by the Eduskunta (Parliament) of the country next week.
“Today is a historic day, a new era opens. A protected Finland is born as part of a stable, strong Nordic region aware of its responsibilities,” Niinistö said at a press conference with the Prime Minister, Social Democrat Sanna Marin, at the end of the meeting.
Niinistö described the NATO integration process as “a test of the power of democracy“, which has been supported in a majority by the citizens, the political parties and the deputies of the Eduskunta.
“Finland is going to maximize its security, and this is not to anyone’s detriment,” the president said, in an allusion to Russia, which he sees as a threat Finland’s entry into NATO.
Finland, which shares a border of 1,300 kilometers with Russia, it remained non-aligned for 75 years. But after Vladimir Putin’s regime launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, the political consensus and public opinion leaned in favor of asking for membership.
The historic decision, reached after a meeting between the president and the Finnish Government’s Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, represents a 180-degree turn in the traditional foreign policy of the Nordic country.
Finland attributes this radical change to the new European security environment, which emerged as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and to repeated threats from Moscow to try to stop NATO’s expansion towards its borders.
All formations with parliamentary representation have been favorable to entry, with the exception of the minority Left Alliance, which has not yet made a statement, so it is expected that the candidacy obtain a resounding majority in the Eduskunta.
From there it will correspond to the 30 member countries of NATO unanimously accept the entry of Finland, which will probably be joined by neighboring Sweden, which is also finalizing its application process these days.
The ratification of the accession of Finland and Sweden by all the Member States of the Alliance, a process that can last several months, it seemed like a simple procedure until a few days ago given the great internal support it had.
El Ministro de Defensa, Antti Kaikkonen (Izquierda) y el Ministro de Asuntos Exteriores, Pekka Haavisto, anunciaron la solicitud (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtiuva via AP)
However, it could be complicated by Turkey’s possible refusalwhose president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was very critical this Friday of the accession of the two Nordic countries, which he accuses of harboring Kurdish “terrorists”.
Saturday, the Finnish head of state called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to inform you of the decision made in a “direct and direct” conversation.
“Avoiding tensions was considered important,” said Niinistö, one of the European leaders most in contact with Moscow in recent years.
Putin replied that joining NATO “It would be a mistake, since there is no threat for the security” of Finland, the Kremlin said.
“We hope to be able to send our candidatures this week, jointly with Sweden. They have their own process, but I hope we make the decisions at the same time,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Saturday.
With information from EFE