While countries think about the dynamics of European security, the Prime Minister of Finnish insisted that his country could not possibly join NATO even when Russian troops were collected at the Ukraine border in February. Three months and one invasion later, Finland drove to join alliances – monumental changes to a country with a long history of neutrality of the war and remained out of the military alliance.
Kremlin, meanwhile, has responded by saying that the move will be a threat to Russia and warn the possibility of retaliation. We see why Finland chose to get rid of its neutrality and what the impact of the step.
On Thursday, Finland President Sauli Niinisto urged his country to apply for NATO membership without delay”, with a wider government expected to officially announce his decision on Sunday.
The country, so far, has moved away from joining an alliance like that because it always wants to maintain friendly relations with Russian neighbors. For a long time, the idea of not joining NATO or too close to the West is the problem of survival for Finland. However, changes in perception and extraordinary support to join NATO emerged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
NATO membership will strengthen the security and national defense system, said President Ninisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin. Niinisto has arrested Russian President Vladmir Putin who is responsible for this dramatic establishment. “You (Putin) caused this, looking at the mirror,” he said the day before the announcement.
Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said that there was no surprise in the announcement and that this was a “agreement made” immediately after Russia set foot in Ukraine.
According to a public poll conducted by the Finnish announcer Yle, 76 percent of Finland supports the alliance. This amount used to be around 25 percent over the years before the invasion
Was this a long time coming?
For Finland, the event in Ukraine brought a sense of intimacy that haunted. Soviet had invaded Finland in the late 1939 and although the Finnish Army took fierce resistance for more than three months, they finally lost 10 percent of their territory.
This country was adopted to remain in harmony during the Cold War years. However, insecure began to grow since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 when Finland brought back military service and military expenditure rose.
Speaking with the BBC, historian Henrik Meinander said that Finland was “mentally ready” to join the organization for a long time. “In 1992, Finland bought 64 US fighter aircraft. Three years later, he joined the European Union, with Sweden. Every Finnish government has been reviewed what is called NATO options, “Meinander added.
What about Sweden?
Sweden is likely to apply for membership after the last call of Finland. If Finland joins, Sweden will be the only non-member of NATO NATO. Now, unlike Finland, whose policy attitude is a matter of survival, Sweden has opposed to join the organization for ideological reasons
What would a membership mean and will it benefit NATO as well?
Sweden is likely to apply for membership after the last call of Finland. If Finland joins, Sweden will be the only non-member of NATO NATO. Now, unlike Finland, whose policy attitude is a matter of survival, Sweden has opposed to join the organization for ideological reasons.
The ruling social democratic party is currently conducting a review of security policies in its parliament to analyze the pros and cons to join NATO and the results will be due on Friday. In terms of public perception, Sweden people seem to be in the same page as Finland. A poll conducted by Daily Aftonbladet Sweden this week showed support for the increase in NATO membership to 61 percent, compared to 42 percent in January.
How have Russia and other countries reacted?
Russia’s foreign ministry has said that they will be forced to take military steps if the membership materialises and said that Finland should “be aware of its responsibility and the consequences of such a move”.
Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, too, took a similar stance and said that this move will be clearly interpreted as a threat and that everything will depend on how the process takes place. Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally to Putin has warned that this may prompt Moscow to deploy nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania.
However, fellow European nations and the United States have welcomed the announcement. Norway and Denmark said that they would push for a faster approval of NATO admission.
The US stated that it was ready to provide any defence support or address concerns that might arise till the membership becomes official. “We are confident that we could find ways to address any concerns either country may have about the period of time between a NATO membership application and the formal accession to the alliance,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
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The ruling social democratic party is currently conducting a review of security policies in its parliament to analyze the pros and cons to join NATO and the results will be due on Friday. In terms of public perception, Sweden people seem to be in the same page as Finland. A poll conducted by Daily Aftonbladet Sweden this week showed support for the increase in NATO membership to 61 percent, compared to 42 percent in January.
