Finland has taken the decision to apply for NATO membership, announced the President and Prime Minister of the Nordic country, a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While most of the member countries of the Alliance have shown themselves in favor, Turkey remains opposed, while any new membership must be made by consensus.
” It is a historic day. A new era dawns “, said Finnish President Sauli Niinistö during a press conference. The head of state and a government council jointly decided that Finland would apply to become a member of NATO “, he said at a press conference.
The president and the prime minister had already announced their intention, but were only able to formalize this request after a meeting of the government council. The two leaders still have to submit a membership plan to Parliament, which will be put to the vote of the deputies on Monday 16 May.
With the support acquired on Saturday May 14 from the Social Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the vote should result in a river score among the 200 Finnish parliamentarians. ” We hope that Parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO in the next few days. It will be based on a clear mandate “said Ms. Marin.
In Finland, the war in Ukraine has resulted in a historic leap in support for NATO membership: according to the latest polls, the share of Finns wanting to join the alliance has exceeded three quarters, i.e. three times the pre-war level in Ukraine.
The Russia is strongly opposed to this project, sharing more than 1,300 km of border with the Nordic country. The latter, historically neutral, changed his position after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Opposition from Russia because it “ would severely limit the Russian presence » in the Baltic
On Saturday, May 14, the Finnish president called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to inform him of his country’s imminent application for membership, which is arousing threats of reprisals from Moscow. The Russian president told him that joining NATO ” would be a mistake “, judging that he” there is no security threat to Finland “, according to the Kremlin.
” We have already stated on several occasions that the enlargement of NATO and the bringing of the military infrastructure of the Alliance closer to our borders will not make the world and our great continent of Europe more stable and more secure. “, had assured the spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
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But the entry of Helsinki into the Atlantic alliance is a revolution that risks upsetting the strategic balance in northeastern Europe, points out Amélie Zima, associate researcher at Irsem: the measure “ would severely limit the Russian presence in the Baltic.
Finland’s entry into NATO would “severely limit the Russian presence” in the Baltic