Finland will apply for membership in NATO

Finland will apply for membership in NATO, the country’s president said Sunday, in a historic move for the Nordic country, which has had a decades-long policy of military neutrality.

 

In a press conference alongside Prime Minister Sanna Marin, President Sauli Niinisto said: “Today, we, the president and the government’s foreign policy committee, have together decided that Finland … will apply for NATO membership.”

 

“We hope that the parliament will confirm the decision to apply for NATO membership during the coming days,” she added. The formal application is expected to be submitted next week.

 

Finland will violate a number of its international obligations if it joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

 

“Accession to NATO will entail direct violations of international legal obligations on behalf of Finland, first of all of the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, which stipulates obligations against joining or taking part in alliances aimed at any of the participants, as well as of the 1992 Russia-Finland Treaty on bilateral cooperation,” the statement said.

 

In this context,  Australia’s international politics expert Tony Kevin said on Friday that Finland’s accession to NATO will weaken the country’s security by making it a priority target of Russian deterrent systems amid risks of NATO missile systems appearing in the Nordic state’s territory.  

Noting Finland and Sweden’s aspirations to join NATO, Kevin said such a decision by Helsinki could be a real “historical tragedy.” “Joining NATO will diminish Finland’s security. Helsinki will inevitably become a priority target of Russian deterrent missile systems, as Saint Petersburg becomes exposed to the risk of NATO missile batteries being installed in Finland,” he pointed out.

 

Basma Qaddour