Finland will announce its decision to join NATO on 12 May. On Monday, May 2, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti writes, citing sources.
According to the newspaper, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will announce on the morning of May 12 that he supports the decision to join NATO. After his address, the parliamentary parties will speak.
The date was set for May 12, as on this day the parliamentary parties plan to discuss the report on the country’s foreign and security policy.
As the newspaper notes, the Prime Minister of the Republic, Sanna Marin, also approved the decision on the country’s entry into the alliance.
On April 30, Niinistö said that the security situation in the world has changed since Russia launched a special operation to protect the Donbass, so the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO will strengthen the northern region of Europe.
On April 27, the Finnish newspaper Ilta Sanomaat, citing Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, reported that Finland and Sweden could announce NATO membership at the same time. According to the publication, this could be announced as early as May 16.
On April 23, Haavisto called for NATO membership as soon as possible. According to him, if Finland does not try to apply for NATO membership at the current time, then in the future the threshold for joining the alliance may already increase.
On April 15, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced the negative consequences for peace and stability in northern Europe when these two countries join NATO. She believes that the authorities of the countries should understand the consequences of such a decision for bilateral relations with Russia, as well as for the European security architecture in general.
Earlier, on April 11, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia that the entry of Finland and Sweden into NATO would not benefit these countries. According to him, the membership of Finland is beneficial for the alliance, as this will allow it to get closer to Russia.
On April 3, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance would find ways to quickly accept Finland and Sweden into its membership if they wanted to join the bloc.
