The President and Prime Minister of Finland said they were in favor on Thursday of the Nordic country's "immediate" accession to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
They announced that a press conference on the Nordic country's decision will be held on Sunday.
“Being a member of NATO would strengthen Finland's security.
As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the alliance as a whole.
Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a statement.
"We hope that the national steps still necessary for this decision will be taken quickly in the next few days", indicate Sauli Niinistö, regular interlocutor of Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, in recent years, and Sanna Marin, the youngest Prime Minister of Europe.
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The executive's official position marks the tipping point of the Finnish line, which shares a 1,300 km border with Russia and a painful past with its powerful neighbor.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24 quickly swung opinion and political leaders in Finland, just like in Sweden, which could also quickly announce a candidacy.
The Secretary General of NATO, the Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, welcomed this Thursday the will of the Finnish leaders to integrate the Atlantic Alliance.
"It is a sovereign decision of Finland (...) If Finland decided to apply, it would be warmly welcomed into NATO and the accession process would take place smoothly and quickly."
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"Joining NATO would not be against anyone"
In Finland, 5.5 million inhabitants, 76% of the population are now in favor of membership, triple the pre-war level.
A very large majority of the 200 deputies has been won, with opponents falling to around ten, and most parties are now in favor.
"Joining NATO would not be against anyone," said the president on Wednesday, in response to Russian warnings against joining the alliance.
For the Finnish head of state, long an advocate of East-West dialogue, Russia can only blame itself for seeing its neighbor join the alliance.
“If we joined, my answer would be:
you did this, look in the mirror.
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Subject to a form of forced neutrality by Russia during the Cold War (the period of tension without direct conflict between the United States and Russia and their respective allies in the second half of the 20th century), Finland joined the European Union and NATO's Partnership for Peace after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Finland is a former Russian province (1809-1917) which was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939.
"Another war against a neighbor of Russia is not unlikely"
The formal decision on joining NATO must be taken by a Council on Security and Foreign Policy, bringing together the Head of State, the Prime Minister and several ministers.
Worried about Russia's reaction to their likely applications for NATO membership, Sweden and Finland have already sought to obtain assurances of protection during the months necessary for their formal entry into the Atlantic Alliance.
During a visit by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the two countries on Wednesday, the United Kingdom signed mutual protection declarations with Sweden and Finland.
This Thursday, Russia once again warned against an extension of NATO.
"The enlargement of NATO and the rapprochement of the Alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and more secure", declared the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, answering "definitely to the question of whether Russia would consider Finland's entry into NATO as a threat.
Russia's response will depend on “the practical fallout from this process, the advance of military infrastructure towards our borders”.
The rallying is justified, believes Michael Shurkin, American political analyst and former CIA, American intelligence.
"The mediocre performance of the Russian army
(Editor's note: in Ukraine)
should not lead to the conclusion that Europe and the United States should not worry about Moscow, or that Finland and Sweden do not have need to question their neutrality", comments the expert.
“Another war against a neighbor of Russia is not unlikely.
This is a real possibility that these neighbors and their allies must be prepared for.
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