Finland has confirmed it will apply to join NATO despite Russia’s president warning it would be a “mistake” to do so.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said joining the military alliance would “maximise” his country’s security following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A formal application for membership is expected to be sent to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week.
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“This is a historic day. A new era begins,” Niinisto said.
He added that the move gives him “mental security” and that membership is of “great importance” to the country.
“In the future, I have described that the Finnish-Russian relationship will change and I am sure the Russians think similarly but, as I said, there are daily questions where you have to be able to cooperate,” he said. the president said.
Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has previously been a neutral country.
Yesterday, Niinisto told Vladimir Putin of his intentions, sparking a Russian president’s warning that abandoning neutrality would be a “mistake”.
In response, Finland’s leader told Putin that the invasion of Ukraine had changed the country’s security environment.
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• Russia’s military advance appears to be faltering, says senior NATO official
• ‘Four enemy missiles’ have hit the Ukrainian military infrastructure, according to a local governor
Finland’s offer to join NATO is expected to be followed by a similar move by Sweden.
Following the announcement, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said the requests from both countries are “very important” and “will strengthen the entire Nordic region.”
An expansion of the 30-nation military alliance would be a serious blow to Putin, who launched the war in what he said was an attempt to thwart its push east.
The countries within the alliance must defend each other if any of them is attacked.
The announcement came as a meeting of NATO foreign ministers was held in Berlin, where the Ukraine war and expansion of the alliance were discussed.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (left) and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (right)
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Will the UK support Finland’s request?
Speaking at the meeting, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said “there was strong support” for a “more global NATO”.
“At NATO this weekend, we agreed that we must continue to help Ukraine win and drive Russia out. Putin must face sustained defeat in Ukraine, Russia must be contained, and such aggression must never happen again,” he added.
“NATO’s open door policy is essential and if Finland and Sweden decide to apply to join, it is clear that they would strengthen the alliance and European security as a whole.”
Earlier, Ms Truss said the UK “strongly supports” Finland and Sweden applying to join.
Former British Army officer Ed Arnold told Sky News that if both countries joined NATO it would be a “very significant moment”, especially in terms of how European security is established.
He added that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already signed joint statements to make sure they are “safe in terms of applying to NATO and the ratification process, which will take a couple of months.”
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What do other NATO members think?
On Saturday, Turkey raised objections to the possible requests from the two Nordic countries, saying both are “openly supporting and engaging” with the outlawed Kurdish militant group PKK and the “terrorist organization” YPG.
However, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana said he was “confident” the alliance will be able to address Turkey’s concerns and welcome all countries to find “conditions to achieve consensus.”
“Finland and Sweden are already NATO’s closest partners,” he said, adding that he hoped the allies would view his requests positively.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country and others have made it clear that they are willing to speed up the national ratification process for Finland and Sweden.
“If these two countries decide to come together, they can come together very quickly,” he said.
Meanwhile, Denmark has rejected suggestions that Putin’s objections to Finland joining the alliance would prevent him from accepting new members.
“Each and every European country has the fundamental right to choose its own security arrangement,” he said.
He added that NATO will also support other countries, such as Georgia, which he said are being “instrumentalized” by Russia.
Reference-news.sky.com