The leaders of Finland said Thursday they intend to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) “without delay,” with Russia to threatening “military-technical” action in response.
Finland shares a border with Russia, and support for joining NATO has grown there since the invasion of Ukraine in February. Finland will likely be allowed to join NATO quickly, and Sweden is set to follow suit.
“Nato membership would strengthen Finland’s security,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement. “As a member of Nato, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. Finland must apply for Nato membership without delay.”
Russia warned that Finland joining NATO “will cause serious damage to bilateral Russian-Finnish relations and the maintaining of stability and security in the Northern European region.” They went on to describe Finland’s announcement as “a radical change in the country’s foreign policy.”
“Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to neutralize the threats to its national security that arise from this,” the Russian statement read.
Russia’s foreign minister also noted that “Helsinki must be aware of the responsibility and consequences of such a move.”
Finland’s plan to join NATO coincides with both Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine and concern that Russia may move beyond Ukraine.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg noted that Finland would be gladly welcomed into the alliance.
“Finland is one of NATO’s closest partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, and an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security,” Stoltenberg said.
