In a historic shift that has been caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February, Finland and Sweden plan to join NATO.
Moscow, which shares a 1,300km border with Finland said it would be a mistake if Finland applied for NATO membership as it would damage the long-standing relationship between the two countries and it would harm the bilateral ties they have. Russia also threatened to take retaliatory action if Finland joined NATO. Finland stayed out of NATO as it did not want to upset Russia and damage their relations, until Russia invaded Ukraine.
“This is a historic day. A new era is opening,” Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told the members of the press at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Sanna Marin. The Finnish is expected to endorse the decision and a formal application is expected to be sent to NATO headquarters in Brussels some time next week.
In a statement, Sweden’s Social Democrats said they would work towards applying for membership as the motion is supported by public and even some opposition parties. A formal application would likely be pursued in the coming days. The social democrats added that they are opposed to stationing nuclear weapons and even hosting NATO bases in their country.
At a press conference, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said her alliance believed that joining NATO was “best for Sweden’s and the Swedish people’s security.”
“For us Social Democrats, it is clear that the military non-alignment has served Sweden well, but our conclusion is that it won’t serve us as well in the future,” she added.
Source: BBC News, Al Jazeera, The Tribune, France24, image from Al Jazeera
