Finland, which shares an 830-kilometer border with Russia, is “very likely” to join NATO despite threats by the Russian government to deploy nuclear weapons, Finnish European Affairs Minister Titi Tupurainen said in an interview with Sky News on Friday.
Why it matters: Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has prompted Sweden and Finland, two historically neutral countries, to join the defense alliance. Russia is threatening to strengthen its defenses in the Baltic Sea, including deploying nuclear weapons in the region in retaliation.
What she says: “The people of Finland seem to have already decided,” Tupurainen told Sky News, noting that the polls show strong support for joining NATO.
- “We need to discuss this issue in detail in our parliament,” she said. “At this point, I would say it is very likely, but no decision has been made yet.
- “The brutal war in Ukraine is a wake-up call for all of us,” she added. “Not only for us Finns, this is about the whole security frontier in Europe.”
What to watch: The Finnish government is expected to present a report to parliament on the changed security environment by the end of this month, launching a debate and finally a recommendation to apply for NATO membership, writes Zach Basu of Axios.
- Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb told Axios that the government could decide to apply for NATO in May.
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