Finland has announced it is in favour of joining NATO, a major policy shift sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its neighbour, Sweden, is expected to decide on joining the military alliance in the coming days.
"Finland must apply for Nato membership without delay," President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement on Thursday.
A special committee will announce Finland's formal decision on applying for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on Sunday.
"NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. As a member of Nato, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance," Niinisto and Marin said, marking a foreign policy shift, away from military non-alignment.
Finland, which shares a 1,300km border with Russia, had refrained from joining NATO during the Cold War in order to avoid provoking the Soviet Union, with which it has a troubled past.
The Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939 – the so-called Winter War – and acquired 10 percent of its territory in the subsequent peace agreement.
U-turn on NATO membership
As recently as January, Marin said a NATO bid would be "very unlikely" during her mandate, which ends in April 2023.
But after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, Finland's political and public opinion swung dramatically in favour of membership.
Neighbouring Sweden is also expected to switch policy and support an application. The ruling Social Democrats are still debating, and the party is due to make a decision on Sunday.
Russia has warned of “military and political repercussions” if Finland and Sweden decide to join NATO.
Membership could be quick
Baltic countries, which were once ruled from Moscow and are now members of NATO, welcomed Finland's announcement.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the military alliance would welcome Finland and Sweden, and said it would be possible to allow them to join "quite quickly".
The next step for Finland is for a ministerial-level security policy meeting to meet Sunday and make the formal decision to submit an application, to be presented to the parliament.
After an official bid is submitted, lawmakers in all 30 NATO member states would need to ratify its application – a process that can take months.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Tuesday he believed Finland could become a NATO member "at the earliest" on 1 October.
(with wires)
