Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson have expanded on their countries’ possible NATO bids following bilateral talks on security in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Helsinki’s decision on whether to apply for the US-led military bloc or not “will happen quite fast,” Marin said during a joint press conference. ”It will happen in weeks, not months.”
Finland, just like Sweden, had been pursuing a policy of not joining any military alliances, but “everything has changed” after the launch of the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, she pointed out.
Marin said she wanted a consensus to be reached on NATO membership in Finnish political circles. “All the parliamentary groups and also the president will have the opportunity to make the decision in the upcoming weeks,” she explained, adding that the MPs will hear from a range of security experts on the issue.
Andersson said that Sweden wouldn’t rush the decision to join NATO, but promised a thorough, yet expedited assessment of the security situation.