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NATO EXPANSION: NO SET DATE FOR FINLAND APPLICATION - MINISTER

By Matt Murphy
BBC News

Published26 April
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 * Russia-Ukraine war

Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Prime Minister Sanna Marin (R) met Swedish leader Magdalena Andersson in
Stockholm to discuss Nato earlier this month

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has said it would be "useful" for Sweden
and Finland to launch joint Nato membership bids.

But he said that no fixed date had been set for any potential application.

The comments came as Nordic media reported the countries could launch a
simultaneous bid to join the security bloc next month.

Stockholm and Helsinki have long pursued policies of military neutrality to
avoid conflict with regional powers.

But during a visit to Sweden earlier this month, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna
Marin said "everything had changed" when Russia attacked Ukraine and told
reporters that Helsinki must to be "prepared for all kinds of actions from
Russia".

Her comments coincided with the publication of a security report that warned
Finland's membership of Nato could result in "increased tensions on the border
between Finland and Russia".



Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported on Monday that the two countries' leaders
could meet in the week of 16 May to announce the bid during a state visit to
Sweden by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto.

Finland shares a 1,340km (830 miles) border with Russia, and Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov has stressed that Moscow would have to "rebalance the situation"
with its own measures if the Nato bid went ahead.

And there have been some reports that Russia had started to move military
equipment towards the Russian-Finnish border, although US officials said they
had seen nothing to confirm that.

But Swedish outlet Aftonbladet reported that the US and UK have agreed to
provide security support during the application process, citing government
officials.

US defence sources told the outlet that Sweden and Finland would be treated as
de-facto members of the security alliance for the duration of the application
process.

The UK and US support would reportedly include an increased number of troops in
the Nordic nations, further intelligence co-operation, assistance in combatting
cyber threats and an increased presence of Nato warships in the Baltic sea.




Last week Sweden's Foreign Minister Ann Linde said a wide-ranging security
review being carried out by Stockholm will be completed by 13 May, rather than
31 May as initially planned.

She noted that with Finland's analysis now complete "there is now a lot of
pressure" to urgently publish the report, and her party, the Social Democrats,
are expected to drop their traditional opposition to joining the bloc.

Russia sees Nato as a threat to its security, and before the war in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that the bloc removed its forces from
Eastern European member states.

However, Russia's invasion has had the opposite effect, with Nato bolstering its
forces in Eastern Europe and traditionally neutral countries now on the verge of
joining the bloc.

Public sentiment in both Sweden and Finland towards Nato membership has changed
dramatically since Russia launched its invasion over two months ago.

In Finland, opinion polls show that public support for joining bloc has climbed
from 28% in February to 68% last month.



Meanwhile, 57% of Swedes now favour NATO membership, up from 51% in March.


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Finland to decide on Nato bid in weeks, says PM
   
   13 April
   

 * Russia warns Sweden and Finland against Nato bid
   
   11 April
   

 * How do you join Nato?
   
   6 hours ago
   

View comments


RELATED TOPICS

 * Russia-Ukraine war
 * Sweden
 * Sanna Marin
 * Russia
 * Nato
 * Finland





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