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Russia’s neighbor Finland looks closer to joining NATO on Wednesday after parliamentary groups reportedly expressed support for becoming part of a military alliance in response to Moscow’s bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Eight out of 10 group leaders during a debate in the Finnish parliament said they were in favor of joining NATO, or at least militarily, according to Reuters.
“Obviously, Russia’s actions have brought Finland a few steps closer to the need for military unification,” Anti-Lindman, the Social Democrat leader of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin speaks while Foreign Minister Peka Haavisto watches during a plenary session of the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki, Finland, on Wednesday. (Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva via AP)
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“The group of the Centrist Party … is ready for all decisions required by Finland’s security, including applying for NATO membership,” said its leader Juha Pilvas.
But left-wing leader Jussi Saramo said Finland’s idea of joining NATO should be discussed in a broader discussion, as applying for it would increase border tensions and is likely to make Finland a potential target in any future conflict. between the alliance and Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin discusses the Russian iron and steel industry via video conference at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday. (AP / Mikhail Klimentiev, Sputnik, photo of the Kremlin pool)
Last week, Marin said Finland would decide to join NATO in “weeks, not months”, according to Euro News.
“The difference between being a [NATO] partner and membership is very clear and will remain so. There is no other way to have security guarantees than in NATO’s deterrence and common defense, guaranteed by Article 5 of NATO, “Marin said. She called NATO” an important part of Europe’s political and security architecture. ”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a press conference on March 4th. (NATO)
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Marin stressed that there was no set schedule, but that “everything has changed with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
Recent surveys in Finland have revealed that national attitudes have changed dramatically, with support for NATO accession jumping from 26% in 2021 to 60% after the invasion – the first time support has crossed the 50% threshold since Finnish business and EVA political forum began collecting data in the 1980s.
Fox News’s Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
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