Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed Finland and Sweden to apply for NATO membership, abandoning a long-held belief that peace was best maintained by not publicly choosing sides.
According to the Finnish constitution, the president, in collaboration with the government, is in charge of Finland’s foreign and security policy.
🇫🇮 Finland will decide to apply for NATO membership on May 12, Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported late on Sunday – @Reuters https://t.co/grqX1kUwds
— Anonymous (@YourAnonNews) May 2, 2022
Following the President’s and Parliament’s initial announcements, the decision will be confirmed in a meeting between the President and the government’s key ministers, according to the paper.
Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (810-mile) border and a pre-1945 history of conflict, has warned that if Finland and Sweden join the US-led NATO alliance, it will deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in its Baltic coast enclave of Kaliningrad.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will announce his approval for the Nordic neighbour of Russia to join the Western defence alliance, followed by parliamentary groups giving their approval for the application, according to the paper.
