NATO membership will strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland will strengthen the alliance as a whole. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delaysaid President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin in a joint statement.

A press conference of the executive tandem at decisions regarding Finland’s security policy is scheduled for Sunday, indicates the presidency.

We hope that the national steps still needed for this decision will be taken quickly in the coming days.indicate Mr. Niinistö, Vladimir Putin’s regular interlocutor in recent years, and Sanna Marin, Europe’s youngest Prime Minister.

The official executive position marks the rocking of the Finnish line, which shares a 1300 -kilometer border with Russia and a painful past with its strong neighbor.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on January 24 quickly gave opinion and political leaders in Finland, as in Sweden, who could also quickly announce a candidacy.

In Finland, 5.5 million inhabitants, 76% of the population is now in favor of membership, according to a poll published on Monday, meaning it has tripled its pre -war level.

A massive majority of the 200 representatives in Parliament were won, with opponents falling to about ten, and most parties are now in favor – the Social Democratic Party of Sanna Marin should take position on Saturday.

Joining NATO is not against anyonesaid the Finnish president on Wednesday night, in response to Russia’s warnings against Helsinki’s entry into the alliance.

For the Finnish head of state, a longtime advocate of East-West dialogue, Russia can only blame itself for seeing its neighbor join the alliance.

If we join [à l’OTAN]my answer [à la Russie] will be: “you did it, look in the mirror”said Mr. Niinistö on Wednesday night.

On Wednesday, the Finnish Parliament’s Defense Committee concluded that NATO was the best choice for the security of Finland after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Subject to a kind of forced neutrality by Moscow during the Cold War, Finland joined the European Union and NATO’s Partnership for Peace after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but remained not a member of the alliance.

Formerly a province of Russia (1809-1917) and invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939, the country shares a border of approximately 1300 kilometers with Russia.

While conducting important internal and international consultations, President Niinistö and Prime Minister Marin still have not publicly expressed their preference in this dossier.

If President Niinistö, who is perhaps the most influential opinion leader in the country, had announced his choice earlier, it could have hampered the debate.Iro Särkkä, professor of political science at the University of Helsinki, told AFP.

The formal decision on membership will be made by a Security and Foreign Policy Council, which brings together the head of state, the prime minister and several ministers.

Concerned about Russia’s reaction to their possible applications for NATO membership, Sweden and Finland sought to obtain guarantees of protection in the months required for their formal entry into the Atlantic Alliance.

During a visit by Boris Johnson to the two countries on Wednesday, the United Kingdom signed mutual protection declarations with Sweden as well as Finland.

Ambiguity remains in Moscow’s response.

Everything related to actions that are likely to change, in one way or another, the organization of the Alliance close to our borders, we observe it in the most cooperative manner.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.