Ukraine war: Finland ‘highly likely’ to apply for Nato membership, says minister
- Finland’s European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen says nation’s people seem to have ‘already made up their mind’, but no formal decision yet
- Her words come hours after Russia warned of unspecified ‘consequences’ should Finland and Sweden join the military alliance of 30 states
A Finnish cabinet minister said on Friday it was “highly likely” that Finland would apply for Nato membership, just hours after Russia warned of unspecified “consequences” should Helsinki and Stockholm join the military alliance.
Moscow’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine has sparked a dramatic U-turn in public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-held policies of military non-alignment.
Finland’s prime minister said on Wednesday that the Nordic nation would decide whether to apply for Nato membership “within weeks”, and Sweden is also discussing joining the alliance.
“At this point I can say that it is highly likely, but the decision is not yet made,” said Finland’s European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen.
“The people of Finland, they seem to have already made up their mind and there is a huge majority for the Nato membership,” she told Britain’s Sky News.
Russia’s foreign ministry said earlier on Friday that the choice was up to Finland and Sweden.
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“But they should understand the consequences of such a step for our bilateral relations and for the architecture of European security as a whole,” spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.