Bayannews – 15 May 2022
Finnish President Sauli Niinist has confirmed that his country is formally applying to join the NATO military alliance, calling the day a historic event for his country.
Hours after Finland announced its intention to join NATO, Sweden’s ruling party formally backed its country’s membership.
A statement from Sweden’s Social Democrats said the country wanted to apply for membership but did not agree to the deployment of NATO bases on its territory.
Before the two countries can apply for NATO membership, their parliaments must support it.
Finnish Prime Minister Sana Marin has expressed hope that the country’s parliament will approve the decision in the next few days.
Finland has decided to step down from its neutral position in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and join NATO.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin that he had seen “very strong support” for Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
“The United States strongly supports Sweden or Finland’s application to join NATO, if they wish to formally apply to join the alliance,” Mr Blinken said.
German Foreign Minister Annalna Bayerbock also stressed the need for security guarantees during the transition. The NATO Deputy Secretary General also said that he was confident that Turkey’s doubts about Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO could be resolved.
