The Nordic country’s bid to join the US-led military bloc now needs parliamentary approval
Finland has officially expressed its desire to join the NATO military alliance. During a cabinet meeting on Sunday, President Sauli Ninistিস্ত and his ministers met.Finland has agreed to apply for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),An official statement has been read.
Finnish accession to the US-led bloc would require the unanimous approval of the existing 30 member states, including Turkey, which suggested it could veto the move. The statement said a report on Finland’s planned membership would be submitted to parliament after approval in the full government session.
“Our decision is historic. The most important thing is the security of Finland and our citizens. This decision strengthens security and cooperation between the Nordic countries“Prime Minister Sanna Marin has said.
The Prime Minister added that he hopes the Finnish Parliament “Make the decision [on joining NATO] With determination and responsibility“
Niinistö and Marin are scheduled to hold a press conference later today on Finland’s NATO membership bid, which is expected to be attended by about 90 journalists.
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Turkey clarifies position on new NATO members
Finland and its neighbor Sweden were outside NATO during the Cold War, but the governments of the two Nordic countries have said they have reconsidered their position since launching a Russian military operation in Ukraine in late February. Moscow has insisted that the membership of Helsinki and Stockholm in the US-led body would be a mistake and promised to respond appropriately to the development.
NATO initially hoped for speedy approval of the Finnish and Swedish membership bids, but on Friday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country could oppose their joining. Erdogan described the two countries “Guesthouse of a terrorist organization“The separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Front (DHKP / C), which Ankara has declared illegal.
Ibrahim Kalin, a top adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made it clear to Reuters on Saturday that Turkey did not want to shoot directly at Sweden and Finland’s accession to the US-led NATO bloc. Ankara’s concerns about the organizations, however, suggest that“Terrorist” What is working in these countries must be addressed, the official said.
Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (832-mile) land border with Russia and fought a war with the Soviet Union in 1939.
Russian leaders have argued that the deployment of NATO members and strategic weapons at their doorsteps violates the policy.Indivisible security“That means the Western bloc or Moscow should not be allowed to strengthen its own security at the expense of the other.”
