Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Finland will apply to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alias “without delay” on Thursday (12/5/2022). Sweden is also expected to follow suit as soon as possible.
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” Sauli Niinisto and Sanna Marin, President and Prime Minister of Finland, said in a joint statement.
“We hope that the national steps that are still needed to make this decision will be taken quickly in the next few days,” he added, as quoted by Reuters.
On a different occasion, Niinisto said this decision arose because of the attitude of President Vladimir Putin. “My response is that (Putin) caused this. Look in the mirror,” he said when asked if his country would provoke Russia by joining NATO.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Finland would be “warmly welcomed” and promised the accession process would be “smooth and fast”. Finland’s membership will enhance the security of Finland and the alliance, he said.
The decision of the two Nordic countries to abandon the neutrality they maintained during the Cold War will be one of the biggest changes in European security in the decades to come.
Finland’s announcement sparked anger from the Kremlin, which called it a direct threat to Russia.
“Of course. NATO expansion does not make our continent more stable and secure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to the threat posed by Finland joining NATO.
“This cannot fail to evoke our regret, and is a reason for a suitably symmetrical response on our part,” he added.
Putin briefly cited NATO’s potential expansion as one of the main reasons for Moscow’s “special military operations” in Ukraine. The neighboring country has long sought to join NATO, although it has recently offered to accept some form of neutral status as part of peace talks.
Finland’s decision comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine reaches a turning point, with Ukrainian forces driving Russian troops out of the area around the second largest city of Kharkiv. It was Ukraine’s fastest progress since forcing Russia to withdraw from the capital and northeast more than a month ago.
Finland and Sweden are the two largest EU countries not yet joining NATO, and Finland’s 1,300 km (800 mi) border will be more than double the border between the US-led alliance and Russia, putting NATO guards a few hours’ drive from the northern outskirts of St Petersburg. .
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Not Ukraine, These 2 Countries Will Soon Join NATO
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