FINLAND ANNOUNCES NATO BID AMID WARNINGS FROM MOSCOW
▶ Sweden set to follow suit as Zelenskyy criticises Russian efforts to claim victory in the Donbas
Finland will apply for Nato membership, the country’s president and government announced yesterday.
The Nordic country, which shares a 1,340-kilometre border with Russia, has been edging towards joining the alliance since Moscow began an invasion of Ukraine in February.
President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, paving the way for an expansion of the 30-member alliance.
Mr Niinisto said the move marked a “historic day” for Finland and said: “A new era is opening.”
Ms Marin said her country received support from current Nato members as it prepared to apply.
“We have today made an important decision in good co-operation between the government and the president of the republic,” she said.
“With the president of the republic, we have been in close contact with governments of Nato member states and Nato itself. I wish to thank the support we have received so far.”
The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision this week. Projections show a large majority of the country’s 200-member parliament support the bid.
Finland will then submit a formal membership application to Nato headquarters in Brussels.
Sweden is expected to follow suit by launching its own bid to join the alliance.
The Finnish announcement came as Nato’s foreign ministers gathered for talks in Berlin to discuss the Nordic countries’ interest in joining. They also discussed the war in Ukraine.
Ms Marin said that while the decision had not yet been confirmed by Parliament, she trusted MPs to debate the move “with determination and responsibility” when they convene today.
During a phone call on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Mr Niinisto that joining Nato would be a mistake because Finland faced “no security threats”.
Mr Niinisto said yesterday that Mr Putin did not issue “any threats” to him during the discussion.
However, Mr Niinisto said warnings had been issued in recent weeks from Russian sources and “even from Putin himself” over how Moscow would react to Finland becoming a member of Nato. Mr Niinisto said that when it comes to matters of security “you have to be awake all the time and careful”.
Hours before Finland made the announcement, its bid to become part of Nato appeared to have hit a roadblock owing to opposition from Turkey.
On Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara objected to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
He said it was “unacceptable and outrageous” that the Nordic nations gave support to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a Kurdish rebel group that is seeking an autonomous region within Turkey.
Mr Cavusoglu held discussions with several Nato foreign ministers, as well as the foreign ministers of Finland and Sweden.
Mircea Geoana, Nato’s deputy secretary general, yesterday offered hope that Finland and Sweden would be welcomed into the alliance. He said opposition from Turkey could be overcome to allow the application process to move forward.
Meanwhile, Washington has pledged to send “more weapons and other aid” to Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
A month into the battle for the Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia should not try to claim victory in the eastern region, given the lack of progress made by its forces.
In an intelligence update issued yesterday, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Russia’s continuing offensive in the Donbas had “lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule”.
In a video address, Mr Zelenskyy said: “Russian troops are still trying to come out at least somewhat victorious.
“It looks especially insane on the 80th day of the full-scale invasion that they don’t drop their efforts.”
We have today made an important decision in good co-operation between the government and the president SANNA MARIN Prime Minister of Finland