Russia threatened to bolster its military assets, especially nuclear, in the Baltic region if Finland or Sweden join the US-led military alliance.
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“It’s time to find solutions.” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Wednesday April 20 that Finland is ready to consider NATO membership. “Unity is the best guarantee of safety”, she added as the Finnish parliament began debating the possibility. Long divided over the issue, the 200 members of the large conference room appear to be especially in favor of membership, according to media outlets that found only 12 opposition.
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Without making any formal recommendation, a “white paper”, presented by the government to parliamentarians last week, emphasizes that only NATO membership makes it possible to take advantage of the “umbrella” of its Article 5 of the collective defence.
Even if it broke with its strict neutrality at the end of the Cold War and joined the European Union in 1995, Finland is only a NATO partner today. Joining the alliance’s 30 members would be a deterrent “significantly larger” against a Russian attack, the white paper said.
“Clearly, Russia’s actions have brought us much closer to a military alliance”because Moscow “became ruthless, unpredictable and aggressive””Antti Lindtman, MP for the ruling Social Democratic Party, said during the debate, while his movement has historically been reluctant to integrate NATO.
Moscow has threatened to bolster its military assets, including nuclear, in the Baltic region if Finland or Sweden join the US-led military alliance. Finland has 1,300 kilometers of borders with Russia.
