The government of Finland, another country that shares borders with Russia, announced this Sunday formally apply for NATO membershipin a step that has already provoked the anger of Moscow.

The president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, and the Finnish government formally approved this Sunday at a meeting the request for entry into the Nordic country, which is expected to be ratified by the country’s Eduskunta (Parliament) next week.

“Today is a historic day, a new era will open. A protected Finland was born as part of a stable, strong Nordic region that knows its responsibilities, ”Niinistö said at a press conference with the Prime Minister, Social Democrat Sanna Marin, at the end of the meeting.

Niinistö described the NATO merger process as “a test of the power of democracy“, supported by the majority of citizens, political parties and representatives of Eduskunta.

“Finland will maximize its security, and it will not harm anyone,” the president said, in an allusion to Russia, which he sees as a threat Finland’s entry into NATO.

Finland, which shares a boundary of 1,300 kilometers along with Russia, it remained out of alignment for 75 years. But after Vladimir Putin’s regime launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, political consensus and public opinion leaned in favor of asking for membership.

The historic decision, reached after a meeting between the president and the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee of the Finnish Government, represents a 180-degree turn in the Nordic country’s traditional foreign policy.

Finland attributed this radical change to the new security environment in Europe, which emerged as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to repeated threats from Moscow to try to prevent NATO’s expansion towards its borders.

All formations with parliamentary representation have been favorable to entry, except for the minority Left Alliance, which has not yet made a statement, so candidacy is expected. gain a resounding majority in Eduskunta.

From there it corresponds to 30 NATO member countries unanimously accepted the entry of Finland, which is likely to be accompanied by neighboring Sweden, which is also finalizing its application process these days.

The ratification of the accession of Finland and Sweden by all Alliance Member States, a process that could take several months, just seemed like a simple procedure until a few days ago given the great internal support it has.

However, it can be complicated by Possible rejection of Turkeythat the president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was so critical this Friday of the two countries ’accession to the Nordic, which he accused of harboring Kurdish“ terrorists ”.

Saturday, the Finnish head of state called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to let you know the decision was made in a “direct and indirect” conversation.

“Avoiding tensions was considered important,” said Niinistö, one of the European leaders who has been in much contact with Moscow in recent years.

Putin replied to join NATO “It was a mistake, because there was no threat for the security ”of Finland, the Kremlin said.

“We hope to send our candidacies this week, together with Sweden. They have their own process, but I expect us to make the decisions simultaneously,” Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Saturday.

With information from EFE