A top official said a ‘huge majority’ of Finns support accession to the US-led bloc
Finland “highly likely” to apply for NATO membership, the country’s Minister of European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen told Sky News on Friday.
“At this point I would say it is highly likely, but a decision has not yet been made,”Sie said.
According to her, a “huge majority”Many Finns want their country to join the long-standing military alliance, but they claim that it has not been decided in Parliament. Finland has a land border of 1,340 kilometers with Russia. It was previously part of the Russian Empire but maintained its neutrality throughout the Cold War.
Tuppurainen described Russia’s operation in Ukraine as “a” “wake up call” and said she hoped the process of Helsinki’s NATO accession to be “as swift as possible.”
Russia requested that Ukraine follow a neutral policy and not join any Cold War-era military alliances.
Sanna Marin, Finnish Prime Minister, stated Wednesday that the country is examining whether it would apply to NATO. At a joint press conference in Stockholm whereThey announced the move, her Swedish counterpart said Russia’s assault on Ukraine had “completely changed” the “security landscape”Europe. Maria Zakharova (Russian Foreign Ministry) stated that Russia could use the NATO-led military bloc to target Russia and the two countries which were historically not aligned.
“Naturally, the choice belongs to the authorities of Sweden and Finland. However, they must be conscious of the potential consequences for our bilateral relations and Europe’s security architecture. The latter is currently in crisis.,” she said.
Finland belonged to the Russian Empire until 1917 when it became independent. The USSR and Finland fought a bloody war in 1939-1940 in the build-up to World War II that resulted in some territorial concessions on Helsinki’s part.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, following Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Minsk Protocol, which was negotiated by France and Germany, gave the regions that had broken away special status in the Ukrainian government.
Since then, the Kremlin demanded Ukraine declare itself neutral and vow to never join NATO’s military bloc. Kiev claims that the Russian invasion was unprovoked. It also denies any plans to take the republics with force.
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