Finland to decide within ‘weeks’ whether to join Nato
PM Sanna Marin and Swedish counterpart discuss security concerns as polls pivot towards membership
Prime Ministers Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, left, and Sanna Marin of Finland in Stockholm on Wednesday
Finland will decide within “weeks” whether to apply to join Nato, its prime minister said, as Sweden also edged closer to membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A decision by the two Nordic nations to join the US-led alliance would reorder Europe’s security architecture and extend Nato’s border with Russia. It could also inflame tensions with Moscow, which has warned it would be forced to “rebalance the situation” should Finland and Sweden decide to join.
Finland’s government on Wednesday set out its assessment of the country’s changed security environment since Moscow attacked Ukraine. Polling has shown that a large majority of Finns now believe the country should apply to join the military alliance.
Nato officials have signalled that Finland and neighbouring Sweden would be welcomed into the 30-member alliance if they applied.
“There are different perspectives to apply [for] Nato membership or not to apply and we have to analyse these very carefully,” Finland’s prime minister Sanna Marin said.
“But I think our process will be quite fast; it will happen in weeks,” Marin said at a joint press conference with Magdalena Andersson, her Swedish counterpart. The Finnish parliament will debate the country’s security situation next week.
Marin said it would make sense for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance together. “I would prefer if we made similar choices for the whole region, but it is up to Sweden to decide,” she said.
Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto said the invasion of Ukraine meant Helsinki should “reassess” its historic position of non-alignment.
“First, Russia is ready to take higher risks than [it was] earlier,” he said. “Secondly, Russia is capable of concentrating more than 100,000 soldiers in one spot against one country. This is a scary scenario.”
Finland could expect Russia to change its military posture on its border in the event Helsinki joined Nato, Haavisto said. “It has implications, certainly . . . but we have our sovereignty and it is important that sovereignty is respected,” he added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned this week that Finnish and Swedish Nato membership would “not bring additional security to the European continent”.
Andersson cautioned against her own country rushing into a decision but did not deny a report on Wednesday in the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper that she would support a June application to Nato.
“This is a very important time in our history. There is a before and after [the Russian invasion],” she said. “We have to really think through what is really best for Sweden and our security and peace in this situation . . . we need to have a process to think this through.”
Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said last week that Nato allies would “find ways to address the concerns” the two countries may have about their security in the interim period between membership application and ratification.
Finland, which shares a long border with Russia, has previously chosen to remain outside Nato but has deepened its formal co-operation with the alliance in recent years.
In Sweden, neutrality has long been part of the country’s political identity but public opinion is also shifting, with growing numbers of Swedes now wanting to consider Nato membership.
Andersson’s party, the Social Democrats, has historically been more resistant to Nato membership but faces an election in the autumn when Sweden’s security is likely to be a key issue.
Nato is due to hold a summit in Madrid in June when the future shape of the alliance will be scrutinised following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland and Sweden had “intensified” their security co-operation in recent months, Haavisto said. “We have been trying to synchronise . . . but at the same time both countries are taking their own decision,” he added.
Vladimir Putin anazidi kuupuzwa pamoja na tisha tisha yake.
