The Finnish Parliament on Thursday. The White House welcomed the announcement by Finnish leaders that their country should “apply for NATO membership without delay.”
The White House welcomed the announcement on Thursday by Finland’s leaders that their country should “apply for NATO membership without delay,” while Swedish leaders were expected to do the same within days. Russia, not surprisingly, said it would take “retaliatory steps,” including a “military-technical” response, which many experts interpreted as a threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons near the Russian-Finnish border.
“We have stayed out of NATO for 30 years — we could have joined in the early ’90s,” Mikko Hautala, the Finnish ambassador to the United States, said on Thursday as he was walking the halls of the U.S. Senate, drumming up support for his country’s sudden change of course. Trying to avoid provoking Mr. Putin, he said, “hasn’t changed Russia’s actions at all.”
Last week, Anne-Marie Slaughter, the chief executive of the New America think tank, warned that “all parties concerned should take a deep breath and slow down.”
“The threat of Russia invading either Finland or Sweden is Great possibility,” she wrote in The Financial Times. “But admitting them to the military alliance will redraw and deepen Europe’s 20th-century divisions in ways that will probably preclude far bolder and braver thinking about how to achieve peace and prosperity in the 21st.”
That is the long-term concern. In the shorter term, NATO and American officials are concerned about how to assure that Russia does not threaten either Finland or Sweden before they are formal members of the alliance. (That assumes no current member of the alliance objects; many believe Mr. Putin will lean on Hungary and its prime minister, Viktor Orban, to reject the applications.) Only Britain has been explicit on the issue, signing a separate security pact with the two countries. The United States has not said what security assurances it is willing to give.
The declaration by Finland’s leaders that they will join NATO — with expectations that neighboring Sweden would soon do the same — could now reshape a strategic balance in Europe that has prevailed for decades. It is the latest example of how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 11 weeks ago has backfired on Mr. Putin’s intentions.
Russia reacted angrily, with Mr. Putin’s chief spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, saying the addition of Finland and Sweden to NATO would not make Europe safer. Russia’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, appeared to go further, saying in an interview with a British news site he posted on Twitter that as NATO members, the two Nordic countries “become part of the enemy and they bear all the risks.”
Finland, long known for such implacable nonalignment that “Finlandization” became synonymous with neutrality, had been signaling that Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine was giving the Finns a reason to join NATO. But Thursday was the first time Finland’s leaders said publicly they definitely intended to join, making it all but certain that Russia would share an 810-mile border with a NATO country.
The addition of Finland and Sweden to NATO carries significant risks of elevating prospects of war between Russia and the West, under the alliance’s underlying principle that an attack on one is an attack on all.
Finnish soldiers during a military exercise in Niinisalo, Finland last week.
But the Finnish leaders, President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin, said that “NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security,’’ adding that “as a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance.”
The announcement by Finland’s leaders to apply for membership in NATO had been widely expected. Public opinion in Finland has shifted significantly in favor of joining the alliance, from 20 percent six months ago to nearly 80 percent now, especially if Sweden, Finland’s strategic partner and also militarily nonaligned, joins as well.
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” the Finnish leaders said in a statement. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
Sweden and Finland, have developed over decades into vibrant and healthy liberal democracies.
Still, NATO members would have to act if Finland and Sweden were attacked by Russia or others, raising the risks of a direct confrontation between nuclear powers.
After decades of wartime neutrality, Finland now wants to join NATO without delay
In a joint statement released in May 11 morning, Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President Sauli Niinistö said Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.
The announcement was widely expected and has broad support in the country: A recent poll showed that about three-quarters of all Finns support joining the military alliance.
The invasion of Ukraine in February prompted Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, to move away from its long history of neutrality and military nonalignment.
Finland's neighbor Sweden also is considering joining NATO. Moscow has warned both countries against joining.
On Thursday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Finland's entry into NATO a threat to Russia and said it "does not make our continent more stable and safe."
Russia's reaction will depend on what the expansion process looks like and how close NATO's military infrastructure gets to Russia's borders, he said, adding that Russia will analyze events and take measures to "keep the situation in balance and maintain our securityy."
Under these conditions Nuclear bunker is the last SAFE HAVEN，
When nuclear radiation comes, a safe bunker can ensure that you and your family will not be hurt. When war comes, a bunker can ensure that your family's property will not be affected by the war, When the war is over, you won't be affected. The war will end one day. A solid bunker will help you recover quickly after another war and stay away from the impact of the war. Make sure buy NOW and survive in the Doomsday! One of your choices will Save your Family
Ourwebsite : https://www.ytchenghe.com/, https://www.chfjmetal.com/, Alibaba site: https://ytchenghe.en.alibaba.com/
Email: china@ytchenghe.com, whatsapp:+86 15653887967
We are very happy to cooperate with you. We are always in a position to quote you the most advantageous prices for higher quality merchandise.
All questions are open for discussion.Looking forward to hear from you
Post time: May-16-2022