Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.
Frank Augstein Reuters
Finland will apply for NATO membership, the country’s president said on Sunday, a historic move for the Scandinavian country, which has pursued a decade-long policy of military neutrality.
Speaking to Prime Minister Sanna Marin at a news conference, President Sauli Niinisto said: “Today, we, the President and the Government Committee on Foreign Affairs, have decided together that Finland … will apply for NATO membership.”
He added that membership in the military alliance would “maximize” Finland’s security following Russia’s unprecedented invasion of Ukraine in February.
Marin described the move as an “important decision” based on a “strong mandate”.
“We hope that the parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO membership in the coming days,” she added. The formal application is expected to be submitted next week.
Finland shares an 830-mile border with Russia; if it joins the military alliance, the land border that Russia shares with NATO territories will roughly double.
As such, there is a risk that the move from Helsinki will provoke aggression from Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly expressed opposition to NATO enlargement.
President Niinisto said he spoke with Putin on Saturday and briefed him on Finland’s decision.
Last week, Russia’s foreign ministry said Finland’s accession to NATO would be a “radical change” in the country’s foreign policy. “Russia will be forced to take retaliatory measures, both military and technical, and of a different nature, in order to stop the emerging threats to its national security,” the statement said.
Marin said Finland was in close contact with NATO and its members on the decision. Last week, Marin and Niinisto said the country should apply to join NATO “without delay”.
Turkey opposed
One potential stumbling block on the horizon is Turkey, a NATO member with the second largest army since the rise of the United States as a new member state, requiring consensus approval from all existing members.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday: “We do not hold positive views” on the potential membership of Finland and Sweden. Sweden is expected to follow Finland and also apply to join NATO in the near future.
Earlier on Sunday, NATO’s deputy secretary general set a confident tone for Finland and Sweden, which would potentially join the group.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Mircea Joanna said the two countries are now NATO’s closest partners.
“I am convinced that if these two countries decide in the next few days, I understand, to seek NATO membership, that [we] they will be able to meet them and find all the conditions for reaching a consensus, “he said.
Regarding Turkey, Joanna added: “They have expressed concerns that are being considered and discussed between friends and allies.”
This is breaking news and will be updated soon.
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