China News Service, May 15th, a comprehensive report, on the 15th local time, Finland officially decided to apply for NATO membership, and the paper application is expected to be submitted to NATO headquarters next week.
On the same day, NATO foreign ministers held an informal meeting in Berlin, Germany. Before the meeting, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Jwana expressed confidence that Finland and Sweden can meet the standards for joining NATO.
Finland confirms it will apply to join NATO
President: Will maximize national security
According to Agence France-Presse, on the 15th local time, Finnish President Niinisto and Finnish Prime Minister Marin announced that the Finnish President and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy of the Government approved Finland’s application to join NATO.
“This is a historic day, and a new era is beginning,” Niinisto and Marin said.
According to the British Sky News, Niinistö said that joining NATO after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will maximize Finland’s national defense security.
Allegedly, the Finnish parliament will meet on the 16th to consider Finland’s application to join NATO.
Finnish Foreign Minister Haavisto previously stated that the paper application for joining NATO will be formally submitted to the NATO headquarters in Brussels on the 18th.
NATO welcomes, US supports
Russia issues a warning
Finland and Sweden have long pursued a military non-alignment policy. After Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine, Finland and Sweden began to consider giving up their neutrality to join NATO.
Late last month, Swedish government sources confirmed that the Swedish government wants Finland and Sweden to submit applications to join NATO at the same time, which could be submitted as early as mid-May.
NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg said if Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO, they would be “warmly welcomed” and any approval process would be “quick”.
On the 12th of this month, Finnish President Niinisto and Prime Minister Marin issued a joint statement announcing their support for Finland’s decision to apply for NATO membership.
White House press secretary Psaki said later in the day that the United States would support Finland and Sweden if they applied to join NATO.
However, for Finland’s intention to join NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on the 14th that it would be a mistake for Finland to abandon the traditional policy of military neutrality, because Finland’s security is not threatened. Such a change in Finland’s foreign policy could have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations.
(Editor in charge: Miao Su)