Finland and Sweden are determined to join NATO

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on May 15 officially announced the government’s decision to join NATO, calling it “a historic day”. Following the declaration from Helsinki, the ruling party in Switzerland Notice of Disclaimer policy military non-alignment for the past 200 years, paving the way for NATO membership. The National Assembly of the two countries still has to debate this, but with the support of the majority of lawmakers as well as public opinion, it is only a matter of time. The change of stance in the two Nordic countries stems from national security concerns after Russia launched a military campaign in Ukraine at the end of February. If Sweden and Finland join NATO, the security picture will European security will undergo important changes.

Some protesters in front of the Swedish Parliament building on May 16 to protest against joining NATO reuters

“First, there will be a strong Nordic region, where all five countries including Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are in NATO. Second, there will be fewer neutral or non-aligned countries in Europe than before. For example, in Ireland, one of the foreign NATO for the rest, the debate about whether to change stance is ongoing,” said Dr Hanna Ojanen, an expert on European defense and security policy at the University of Tampere in Finland. reply Youth.

The two countries are likely to jointly submit their applications to join NATO on May 17 or 18 when Niinisto arrives in Stockholm for a state visit, according to the Financial Times. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would ensure a speedy admission, although it normally takes up to a year.

The Finnish Leopard tank participates in the exercise “Arrow 22” in Kankaanpaa on May 4, 2022.

According to Ms. Ojanen, once Sweden and Finland submit an application for accession, the membership review can be completed “in just a few days”. “This process will be quick because the two countries are already ‘compatible’ with NATO and are known as close partners of the alliance,” she said. After that, the procedure for admitting these two countries will be drawn up and sent to the 30 member countries for ratification.

However, Turkey has threatened to block the accession process of Sweden and Finland, accusing the two countries of “hosting” what Ankara calls Kurdish “terrorist” groups. Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said on May 16 that the country would send a diplomatic mission to Turkey to solve the problem.

* In another development, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on May 16 said that the defense forces of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, had repelled Russian troops and moved close to the border with Russia. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it shot down three Ukrainian warplanes, as well as used missiles to attack targets in the Donbass region. These claims cannot be independently verified.