It is “highly likely” that Finland will apply for NATO membership, Finland’s European affairs minister said.
Tytti Tuppurainen told DailyExpertNews on Monday that the decision has not yet been made, but called the country’s likely membership “a very natural response” to Russia’s war in Ukraine. She added that if her country does indeed apply, she hopes “the ratification process will be as short as possible”.
“We would of course prefer a neighborhood based on friendship and collaboration,” she said. “But it is Russia that has distanced itself from the security order and it is Russia that has started war in Europe. It is Russia that invaded Ukraine. Now people are seeing this new reality and it is time to join NATO.”
On Thursday, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is expected to give his personal opinion on whether or not to pursue NATO membership, which is expected to be followed by a statement from Prime Minister Sanna Marin.
Upcoming decision: Tuppurainen told DailyExpertNews that most of the country’s political parties have already discussed the issue. The Social Democrats – the party of Marin and Tuppuraien – will meet on Saturday to make their decision, which will be guided by Marin’s announcement.
“With the country’s leader on the brink of making the decision on NATO application, we can say with good reason that the whole country is ready,” Tuppurainen said, pointing to Finland’s strong public support for accession. to the defensive alliance. †
Message to Moscow: Russia has warned it will respond if Finland – with which it shares a border of more than 800 miles – joins NATO.
The Kremlin does not dictate our decisions,” Tuppurainen told DailyExpertNews, adding that it “would be in Russia’s best interest to act like an adult in this situation.”
“We have now seen what kind of country Russia is and what kind of regime it has. It has a ruthless dictator as its leader,” she said. “We no longer have any illusions about what he is up to…and we now know that he can wage a war as despicable, ruthless and brutal as you can imagine.”
Finland has been a partner of NATO for a long time, something US and NATO officials have pointed out when expressing support for the country’s membership if it chooses to apply.