A Finnish cabinet minister said Friday it was "highly likely" that
Finland would apply for
NATO membership, just hours after Russia warned of
unspecified "consequences" should Helsinki and Stockholm join the
military alliance.
اضافة اعلان
Moscow's February 24 invasion of Ukraine has sparked a dramatic U-turn in
public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-held policies
of military non-alignment.
Finland's prime minister said Wednesday that Nordic nation would decide
whether to apply for NATO membership "within weeks", and Sweden is
also discussing joining the alliance.
"At this point I can say that it is highly likely, but the decision is
not yet made," said Finland's European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen.
"The people of Finland, they seem to have already made up their mind
and there is a huge majority for the NATO membership," she told Britain's
Sky News.
Russia's foreign ministry said earlier Friday that the choice was up to
Finland and Sweden.
"But they should understand the consequences of such a step for our
bilateral relations and for the architecture of European security as a
whole," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
Finland has a long history with Russia, with which it shares a
1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border. In 1917 it declared independence after 150
years of Russian rule.
During World War II, its vastly outnumbered army fought off a Soviet
invasion, before a peace deal saw it cede several border areas to Moscow.
During the Cold War, Finland remained neutral in exchange for guarantees
from Moscow that it would not invade.
The Finnish government hopes to build a parliamentary consensus on the issue
over the coming weeks, with MPs due to hear from security experts.
Many analysts predict Finland could submit a bid in time for a NATO summit
in June.
Any membership bid must be accepted by all 30 NATO states, a process that
could take four months to a year.
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