Finland made one today, Wednesday step towards NATO membershipafter the country’s major parliamentary groups expressed support for some form of military alliance in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Finnish parliament today began debating whether the Nordic country, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, should join NATO. Following the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the country, which has so far not raised the issue of NATO membership to avoid diplomatic tensions with Moscow, is changing its stance.
Eight parliamentary group leaders The 10 expressed support for either NATO membership or military alignment, while Left Alliance leader Youssi Saramo emphasized that the decision should not be taken lightly and called for a wider debate.
Prime Minister Sana Marin’s Social Democrats have avoided mentioning NATO in their speeches, but have backed the idea of ​​a military alliance.
“It’s obvious that Russia’s actions have brought Finland many steps closer to the necessary military alignment, “Social Democrat leader Andy Lindman told lawmakers in his parliamentary group.
The government also said that public support for joining the North Atlantic Alliance could be measured through a parliamentary vote instead of a referendum, although no date has been set for such a vote.
The Social Democrats’ biggest ally in Finland’s five-party coalition government, the Center Party, has said that he is ready to support a decision for NATO membership.
“The Center Party team … is ready for all the decisions required by Finland’s security, including the application for NATO membership,” said team leader Juha Pilvas.
The Left Alliance, which has 16 seats in the 200-seat parliament and is part of the Marin governing coalition, has traditionally opposed NATO, but stressed that will not leave the governing coalitionprovided that the parliamentary majority supports accession. Saramo, however, feared that NATO membership would increase tensions on the Finland-Russia border and could make Finland a possible target for the first blow to a NATO-Russia war.
A nationalist member of parliament representing a group with only one seat was the only one to express direct opposition to Finland’s possible bid to join NATO.
Finland is a close partner of NATO, but maintains a militarily non-aligned regime. Now, however, the country’s defense and security need strengthening, and a decision on whether to apply for NATO membership could be made within weeks, Marin said.
Zakharova: Finland and Sweden know where NATO membership will lead
Russia has warned Sweden and Finland through bilateral diplomatic channels about consequences of NATO membershipsaid earlier the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova.
“They [η Σουηδία και η Φινλανδία] they know, they will not be surprised at anything, they were informed about everything, where it will leadSaid the Russian official.
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