Finland’s president and prime minister have said the country must submit an application to join NATO in the face of Russian aggression.
The major policy shift was announced today in a joint statement by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
The dramatic move comes despite Kremlin threats of ‘destruction’ and comes a day after Boris Johnson signed security pacts with Helsinki and Sweden pledging Britain would come to their aid if they come under Russian attack.
They said: ‘Now that the moment of decision-making is near, we state our equal views, also for information to the parliamentary groups and parties.
‘NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance.
‘Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.
‘We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.’
Finland, which shares an 810-mile border and a difficult past with Russia, has previously remained outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to maintain friendly relations with its eastern neighbour.
Earlier this morning, former prime minister Alexander Stubb said: ‘I have been waiting for this day for 30 years.’Announcement on Finnish NATO membership imminent.’
Sweden is expected to imminently follow Finland with an application to join the Western military pact.
The Nordic nations have been rattled by Moscow’s war against its pro-Western neighbour, which has bolstered domestic support for joining the alliance – and the security that membership would provide.
After today’s announcement, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said he will push for a quick admission process.
‘Denmark will of course warmly welcome Finland to NATO. (It) will strengthen NATO and our common security,’ Frederiksen said on Twitter. ‘Denmark will do everything for a quick admission process after the formal application.’Any NATO expansion is bound to spark anger from Vladimir Putin, who has warned Sweden and Finland against joining.
The Russian tyrant has historically pushed back at any eastward expansion of the alliance and has strongly condemned any notions of Ukraine joining. He claimed Ukraine’s closeness with the West was one reason behind his invasion.
Moscow lawmaker Vladimir Dzhabarov recently warned Finland that a formal application would mean ‘the destruction of the country’, while another Kremlin spokesman Alexander Grushko threatening ‘the most undesirable consequences’.
But Moscow’s mounting warnings and threatening rhetoric appear only to have strengthened Finland’s and Sweden’s resolve to join.
It comes after Britain pledged yesterday to come to Sweden and Finland’s aid should either of the countries come under Russian attack.
Boris Johnson signed security pacts with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts during visits to the countries on Wednesday.
The pacts could see British troops sent to the two nations in the event of a Russian invasion from ’21st century tyrant’ Putin – who has threatened ‘military and political consequences’ should either country join the NATO alliance.
Speaking after signing the pact yesterday, Niinisto said he did not view joining the military alliance as a ‘zero sum game’. ‘Joining Nato would not be against anybody,’ the Finnish president said.
Describing the declaration as a ‘pivotal moment in our shared history’, Mr Johnson added: ‘It’s pivotal because… the Russian invasion of Ukraine has changed the equation of European security and it has rewritten our reality and reshaped our future.
‘We’ve seen the end of the post-Cold War period and the invasion of Ukraine sadly has opened a new chapter’.
Finland shares a lengthy land border with Russia and is only about 250 miles from St Petersburg.
Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine has led to a swift turnaround in Finnish and Swedish public opinion in favour of NATO membership, which until recently had little backing.
Putin has issued a series of threats through his Kremlin loyalists towards Finland and Sweden if they try to join NATO
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Putin has issued a series of threats through his Kremlin loyalists towards Finland and Sweden if they try to join NATO
A poll published Monday by Finnish public broadcaster Yle showed that a record 76 percent of Finns now support joining the alliance, up from the steady 20 to 30 percent registered in recent years.
Public opinion has also surged in Sweden, albeit to lower levels, with around half of Swedes now in favour.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democratic Party said Monday it would announce its position on the NATO issue on May 15. A favourable stance would provide a clear parliamentary majority for an application.
Elisabeth Braw, an expert on Nordic countries’ defence at the American Enterprise Institute, told AFP that even though Stockholm appears more hesitant than Helsinki, she believes the two countries ‘will do the application at the same time’.
Traditionally accustomed to lengthy consensus-building debates on major issues, Sweden has been caught off-guard by Finland’s swift turnaround.
‘The Social Democrats in Sweden have always said: ‘We’ll think about this when Finland joins’… because they thought Finland would never join’, Braw said.