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The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistoand the Finnish Government have formally approved this Sunday the your country’s application for membership in NATOwhich is expected to be ratified by the Eduskunta (Parliament) next week.
“It’s a historic day, a new era is dawning. A protected Finland is born as part of a stable Nordic region, strong and aware of its responsibilities”, said the Finnish president at a press conference with the prime minister, Sanna Marin, after having finished the meeting in which the decision.
NATO members except Turkey support the accession of Finland and Sweden
The announcement comes after Niinistö and Marin, will ensure on Thursday that both were in favor of membership in the Alliance of Nationsin a major change from its historic policy of neutrality, triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Russia, which shares a long land border with Finland, has said it would be a mistake for Helsinki to join NATO and would damage bilateral ties.
Niinistö called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday to tell him of his country’s plans to join the alliance. Putin not only warned that the decision would harm Russian-Finnish relations but also threatened with medical “technical-military“if there was income.
NATO supports receiving Finland and Sweden
NATO has stated at its meeting in Berlin that awaits Sweden and Finland “with open arms” if both countries confirm in the next few days that they want to become new members of the alliance and hoped to convince Turkey to endorse the expansion.
“Comply with standards and participate in joint missions“said the German Foreign Minister and host of an informal meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Atlantic Alliance, Annalena Baerbock, who stated that NATO partners await them “with open arms”.
In addition, according to the minister, Germany will initiate an accelerated procedure to approve the candidacy within the federal government so that parliamentary ratification can then proceed quickly, so that Sweden and Finland do not find themselves in a “grey zone” before their full entry into NATO.
The only exception in this unanimous reception of the members of the Alliance to the two possible incorporations is Turkey, which this week has been reluctant for these two countries to join the formation, alluding to the alleged support of “terrorists” from those Nordic nations.
Finnish President and NATO willing to convince Turkey
Before the news was formalized, Turkey, a member of NATO, had declared himself against the accession of Finland and Sweden to the Alliance. The reason, the alleged support for groups such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PPK), considered “terrorist” by Turkey. This could put the two Nordic countries in trouble, since the approval of all its members is necessary to formalize accession.
Niinistö has said he is “a little confused” about what, according to him, has meant a change in Turkey’s position and has said “be willing” to meet with Erdogan to discuss the matter.
“What we need now is a very clear answer, I am ready to have a new discussion with President Erdogan on the problems he has raised,” Niinistö said.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, for his part, has said that Sweden and Finland must stop supporting terrorists in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans to Turkey in its attempt to join NATO.
Cavusoglu has said that Turkey he did not threaten anyone or seek influencebut spoke especially about Sweden’s support for the Kurdish militant group PKK.
Both the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, and the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, have expressed their confidence in reaching an “agreed consensus” with Turkey regarding enlargement towards the Nordic countries in the face of the threat posed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s decision represents a 180-degree turn in the country’s traditional foreign policy and ends almost eight decades of military non-alignment. In addition, Sweden is expected to follow suit in the coming daysIn fact, this Sunday the formal pronouncement of support from the government Swedish Social Democratic Party for the application for admission is expected.
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