The decision should be approved by the Finnish parliament in the coming days, but this step is considered a formality, the AP agency wrote.
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Already yesterday, according to the Finnish presidency, the conversation between Niinistö and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “direct and clear and without exaggeration”. According to his office, the Finnish president told Putin how fundamentally the security environment for Finland had changed after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
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“Finland’s accession to NATO could be a mistake,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin added that he did not threaten Finland, but warned of possible negative effects on mutual bilateral agreements, states Al Jazeera.
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According to the AP agency, Niinistö is one of the few Western leaders who has maintained a regular dialogue with the head of the Kremlin over the past ten years. Niinistö emphasized that at his first meeting with Putin in 2012, he said that “each independent country maximizes its own security”.
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Finland and Sweden are warmly welcome and we support their interest in joining, we consider them friends. And that is the position I will communicate to my colleagues.
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“It simply came to our notice then. By joining NATO, Finland will strengthen its own security and accept its responsibility, “said the head of the Nordic country. However, Niinistö also emphasized that Finland, despite its likely future membership in the Alliance, wanted to continue bilateral cooperation with Russia “on practical issues” arising from the neighborhood.
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The Turks do not like Finland’s accession to NATO either. Turkey is said to be not closing the door on Sweden and Finland in terms of their membership in NATO. But he wants to negotiate with the Nordic states and wants them to take action against what Ankara calls terrorist activities, especially in Stockholm. Turkish President Ibrahim Kalin’s spokesman told Reuters.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was not in favor of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. According to him, both countries host organizations that are striving for an independent Kurdistan.
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“We are not closing the door. We just want to talk about this issue, given that it is a matter of Turkey’s national security, “said Kalin, who is also Erdogan’s foreign policy adviser.
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The Turkish president surprised NATO member states with his statement on Friday, Reuters reported. Ankara’s negative stance can block both countries from joining the Alliance.
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Finland has Czech support
The Czechia fully supports the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO. Arriving at the informal meeting of the North Atlantic Alliance’s foreign ministers in Berlin, Jan Lipavský, the head of Czech diplomacy, announced this today. Finland and Sweden have decided to change their current neutral stance following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish government’s social democracy has already supported accession to the Alliance, and the same decision is also expected on Sunday from the government’s social democracy in Sweden.
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“Finland and Sweden are warmly welcome and we support their interest in joining, we consider them friends. And this is the attitude I will communicate to my colleagues, “said Lipavský.
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The Czech minister noted that there was a long way to go to expand the Alliance to include both Nordic countries. “But we need a political agreement. “Once we have a political agreement, it will be a matter of ratification in many parliaments,” he said. The admission of new members must be formally approved by all NATO member states.
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