After decades of neutrality, Sweden and Finland will soon join NATO, anticipating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland and Sweden immediately joined NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Kremlin says the war against Ukraine prevented NATO from expanding, but now, on the contrary, they have received a larger alliance presence on their borders.
without delay
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin issued a joint statement on the immediate entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.
Niistö and Marin said they wanted to give the people of the country the opportunity to discuss this topic in more detail and broadly, but it was time to make a decision.
“NATO membership will strengthen Finland’s security,” the two leaders said in a statement. “As a NATO member, Finland will strengthen the entire defense alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.”
“We cannot remain defenseless against a Russia that does not comply with international law,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin said earlier.
Sweden is expected to take similar steps soon.
The Kremlin has already said that Finland’s entry into the alliance is seen as a threat to Russia.
Community support
Public opinion polls show that 76% of the population in Finland is now in favor of joining NATO, while only 12% are against it. This is a major change in the public opinion of the country, where typically almost half of the population opposes joining the alliance. Finnish lawmakers cannot ignore public opinion that is clearly expressed. Top Finnish politicians also seem to support the country’s entry into NATO.
Finland is expected to officially announce this decision on Sunday.
The same decision on Sunday is expected in Sweden.
Each of these two countries has decided on its own to join NATO, but Stockholm and Helsinki are working closely on this issue.
NATO its ready
The NATO leadership has announced that Finland and Sweden’s applications will be considered very quickly.
“Finland is one of NATO’s closest partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, making an important contribution to Euro-Atlantic security,” NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said.
Applications will first be considered by the NATO Council, and officially the two countries ’entry into the alliance could be announced in the summer at the next NATO summit.
However, final entry into this organization will be formal within a year, when the necessary documents will be approved by the parliaments of all the current 30 NATO countries.
How will Russia respond?
Putin warned Finland against joining NATO, but that doesn’t seem to work. His attack on Ukraine provoked the exact reaction he feared most: NATO’s further expansion across Russia’s borders.
Putin is currently busy in Ukraine and is unlikely to make any sudden move to Finland. Russian troops, near Finland’s 1,300-kilometer border, were again moved south. But in the future, he will likely deploy both military and missiles near the border and increase aggressive air and sea patrols.
Finland’s entry into NATO increases the length of Russia’s border with the alliance by 1,340 km, and the distance from NATO’s borders to St. Petersburg. Petersburg was reduced to 150 km.
Commenting on the statement by the Prime Minister and President of Finland, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that this country’s entry into NATO would threaten Russia.
According to him, Russia will conduct a special review after Finland joins NATO to develop the necessary measures to ensure its security.
Source: korrespondent
