ليبيا: «قضايا خلافية» تعترض اجتماع المنفي وصالح وتكالة بالقاهرة
Finland’s leaders seek to join NATO ‘without delay,’ after Ukraine invasion
“NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance,” they said. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
“The war started by Russia jeopardizes the security and stability of the whole of Europe,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told European lawmakers Thursday. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the European and Finnish security environment — however, Finland is not facing an immediate military threat,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO expansionism as a reason for his invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s accession to the alliance would double its land border with Russia.
Following Finland’s announcement, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former Russian president, said that NATO’s support of Ukraine and the conduct of military exercises in countries bordering Russia “increase the likelihood of a direct and open conflict between NATO and Russia.”
“This kind of conflict is always at risk of turning into a full-fledged nuclear war,” Medvedev said.
In the capitals of the European Union and other NATO countries, the Finnish leaders’ statement was greeted with expressions of support and promises to keep Finland’s application process as short as possible.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said “NATO is about to get stronger,” while the Baltic region is “about to get safer.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country “will of course warmly welcome Finland to NATO” and “do everything for a quick accession process after the formal application.”
NATO leaders have said that Finland, which shares an 800-mile border with Russia, will be welcomed by the alliance if it decides to join. Neighboring Sweden is also drawing closer to NATO because of the war in Ukraine, and the Swedish tabloid Expressen reported that a decision from Sweden on joining the defense alliance could come as soon as Monday, citing unnamed sources.
Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Ann Linde said her country should “take [the Finnish] assessments into account” when making a decision on NATO membership.
Important message today from 🇫🇮 President @niinisto & PM @MarinSanna on @NATO membership. 🇫🇮 is 🇸🇪 closest security & defence partner, and we need to take 🇫🇮 assessments into account. 🇸🇪 will decide after the report from the security policy consultations has been presented.
— Ann Linde (@AnnLinde) May 12, 2022
Now that Finnish leaders have expressed their support for a NATO membership bid, the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy will meet with Finland’s president to formally decide whether the country should apply, then submit a proposal to lawmakers. The Finnish Parliament’s defense committee has already recommended joining NATO, while the major parliamentary parties have also expressed support for a military alliance. Public support for joining NATO is also high in Finland and has been growing since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The committee is set to meet Sunday, Agence France Press reported, citing Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.