188 deputies out of 200 spoke in support of membership in the alliance. The counter-proposal to refuse to join NATO was put forward in the “Union of Left Forces”, but it was not supported
The Finnish Parliament has come out in favor of applying for membership in NATO. 188 deputies out of 200 voted, eight were against, three were absent, writes Yle. The majority of parliamentarians rejected the proposal of the deputy of the “Union of Left Forces” Markus Mustajarvi to refuse to join the military bloc.
In their speeches, representatives of different parties stressed that Finland’s intention to become a member of the alliance is not directed against anyone. Prime Minister Sanna Marin, speaking at the opening of the meeting, formulated the goal of joining NATO as follows: “If we are attacked, they will help us. And if others are attacked, we will help already.”
On May 14, Marin and President Sauli Niinisto announced that the Finnish government had officially decided to join the North Atlantic Alliance and would submit an application after consultations with parliament: for such a step, its approval is necessary. Now that the positive opinion of the deputies has been received, the State Council and the president should officially announce the application – this will happen on Tuesday, Yle reports. The country’s foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, said that Helsinki plans to apply on May 18.
The Swedish authorities also announced their intention to join NATO, and Foreign Minister Anne Linde has already signed an application.
Turkey opposed the membership of the two Scandinavian states in the alliance: according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, these countries condone organizations recognized by Ankara as terrorist, in particular, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. At the same time, Helsinki and Stockholm imposed sanctions against the republic, so Turkey cannot support their accession to NATO, the head of state said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who earlier said that he would do everything possible for Sweden and Finland to join the bloc as soon as possible, after Erdogan’s statements called for Ankara’s concerns to be taken into account. “Turkey is a valuable ally, and any security-related issues must be resolved. We must be together at this historic moment,” Stoltenberg stressed.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation with Niinisto, called Finland’s rejection of neutrality erroneous, since there are no threats to the country’s security. Moscow will react “appropriately” in the event of the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructure in Sweden and Finland, he warned.
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