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Finland announces its intention to join NATO

Finland announced it would join NATO - Photo 1.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto (right) and Prime Minister Sanna Marin during a press conference in Finland – Photo: AP

“Finland must apply to join NATO immediately,” the joint statement by Mr. Niinisto and Ms. Marin said.

Thus, according to Reuters news agency, Finland has officially decided to join NATO.

Previously, a number of countries, including the United States, had pledged to ensure security for Finland and Sweden during the time these two countries applied to join NATO and until they were accepted into the alliance.

Sweden and neighboring Finland stayed out of NATO during the cold war. However, Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine now have these two countries rethinking their security policies.

Sweden and Finland both fear they will become vulnerable during the accession process, which can take up to a year to be approved by all NATO members.

According to Reuters, Sweden is likely to make a similar move after the Finnish leaders spoke.

On May 8, Russian Ambassador to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, warned that Sweden and Finland joining NATO would turn the region into a “battleground”.

Sputnik news agency quoted Stepanov as saying that the two European countries would be forced into confrontation with Russia if they joined NATO instead of coexisting as before. He described NATO as a nuclear war machine that is drawing closer to Russia’s borders, and with the United States, the organization is provoking the Nordic countries to abandon their peaceful way of life to become another potential battlefield.

Previously, in mid-April, Dmitry Medvedev – vice chairman of the Russian Security Council – said that if Sweden and Finland joined NATO, Russia would have to strengthen its land, naval and air forces at sea. Baltic. Mr. Medvedev also pointed out the nuclear threat.

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