Finland drops neutral gaze in NATO bid
Finland formally declared its intent to join NATO Sunday as the historically neutral nation seeks to bolster its security amid Russia’s ongoing incursion into Ukraine.
The nation of roughly 5 million people shares a long border with Russia and the move is likely to escalate already searing regional tensions.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said they would pursue membership in NATO and that the nation’s Parliament would vote on the matter in the coming days.
“This is a historic day,” Niinistö said. “A new era begins.”
Niinistö said he had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he took the news in stride.
But Russia has long bristled about NATO moving closer to its borders — and Putin warned his Finnish counterparts on Saturday that relations would be “negatively affected.”
Finland’s announcement came just hours before Sweden’s governing party backed a plan to join the trans-Atlantic alliance amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Georgia also has expressed a desire to join the Western military bloc as a buffer against Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, NATO leaders contended that the Russian offensive into Ukraine is withering and that a Ukrainian win is possible — especially with heightened assistance from other countries.
“The brutal invasion by Russia is losing momentum,” NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said Sunday. “We know that with the bravery of the Ukrainian people and army, and with our help, Ukraine can win this war.”
Speaking at a meeting with diplomats in Berlin, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the process for Finland and Sweden to join could happen swiftly.
He said Turkey, which recently laid out demands regarding the Nordic countries joining NATO, likely would not hold up the process.
Stoltenberg also added he hoped Ukraine would win the war as Russian military advances appear to be faltering.
Moving quickly
The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in the coming days and a formal membership application will then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels, likely next week.
Meanwhile, Sweden moved a step closer to applying for NATO membership after the governing Social Democratic party met Sunday and backed joining the alliance.
The plan to join NATO will be discussed in Sweden’s Parliament on Monday, and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s cabinet will make an announcement later that day.