Finland's President and Prime Minister for NATO membership

Created: 05/12/2022, 09:19 am

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Finland probably wants to join NATO: President and have spoken out in favor of it.

The background is the Ukraine-Russia war.

Helsinki - Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have spoken out in favor of their country joining NATO.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the two endorsed membership in the western military alliance.

It is now expected that Finland will decide to apply for membership in the coming days.

Niinistö had previously announced that he would give his "personal" opinion on the question of membership in the western military alliance before the government's final decision.

Finland has been neutral for decades, but public opinion has changed significantly since neighboring Russia invaded Ukraine.

In neighboring Sweden, too, the decision to join NATO is imminent.

According to a survey published on Monday, 76 percent of Finns now support NATO membership, compared to 20 to 30 percent in previous years.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin's ruling Social Democrats want to announce their position on the NATO issue by Saturday at the latest.

According to a media report, Niinistö, Marin and four of their ministers will then make the final decision on an application for NATO membership on Sunday.