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Reuters
Reuters
Politics

Polish PM backs Finland's leader in fight for right to party

FILE PHOTO: Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks next to the wall erected to prevent migrant crossing on Polish-Belarusian border amid migrant crisis near Kuznica, Poland June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Finland's prime minister had good reason to go out and celebrate, because her country is joining NATO, her Polish counterpart said on Friday, backing Sanna Marin's right to party as she faces a storm of criticism at home over leaked videos of a night out.

Marin said on Friday she had taken a drugs test following the publication of video footage this week that showed her partying with friends. She vowed she had never used illegal drugs and said her ability to perform her official duties had remained unimpaired on the Saturday night in question.

"The prime minister has a reason to be happy because Finland joined NATO," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference when asked about the videos.

Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin holds a news conference after videos of her partying leaked into social media and sparked criticism earlier this week, in Helsinki, Finland August 19, 2022. Lehtikuva/Roni Rekomaa via REUTERS

"So if on this occasion the prime minister of Finland drank a little more Finlandia (vodka) and because of this danced, there is nothing terrible in that."

Video clips of the 36-year-old Marin partying with well-known Finnish influencers and artists began circulating in social media this week and were later published by media outlets in Finland and abroad.

NATO's 30 allies signed the accession protocol for Sweden and Finland last month, allowing them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once all member states ratify the decision.

FILE PHOTO: Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks with Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis during a meeting between leaders of EU countries and the governments of the "Eastern Partnership", a group of six neighbouring states which includes Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, during the European Summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2021. Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Pool via REUTERS

Poland has strongly supported Finland's membership of the alliance.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

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