Finland officially decided to join NATO

The Conference of Foreign Ministers of the member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which ended on the evening of May 15 in Berlin, welcomed the decision of the Finland.

The President and Prime Minister of Finland jointly announced in a joint press conference that Finland will submit an application join NATO. This is considered an important turning point in Finland’s foreign policy, abandoning the principle of neutrality, moving to join a military alliance.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said: “Today, we agreed to an important decision. We hope that the National Assembly will approve the decision to join NATO in the coming days“.

The news was received positively at the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Finland has a modern military, compatible with North Atlantic Treaty Organization standards, and still regularly cooperates with NATO. Sweden has also expressed interest in joining NATO, but has not officially announced it.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. (Photo: AP)

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States, stated:The United States will strongly support Sweden and Finland’s applications to join NATO. We have long supported NATO’s open door policy and the right of all nations to determine their own future, including security policies and agreements.“.

However, there are two unresolved problems. The first is that during the time of considering accession, if Finland is attacked, NATO has no “righteous name” to respond to. Second, Turkey, which is also a NATO member, protested because Finland still showed a lenient position towards a political organization that the Turkish government considers a terrorist. Finland and other NATO countries hope to convince Turkey between now and the NATO Summit at the end of June.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, said:If Finland and Sweden decide to join, it will be a historic moment. The membership of these two countries in NATO will strengthen our common security“.

When Finland becomes a member of NATO, Russia will have more than 1,300 km more border with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Russian leader stated, “It is wrong for Finland to abandon its policy of neutrality”.

According to a statement by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, the time of Finland’s application to join NATO is expected to be May 18. In a phone call with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Finland’s accession to NATO could negatively affect relations between Moscow and Helsinki.

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