The Finnish government will provide the country’s parliament with a review of possible NATO accession by the middle of this month, the country’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.
Moscow’s attack on Ukraine has prompted Finland, which has a common border with Russia, to intensify the discussions on potential benefits of joining the military alliance. Haavisto revealed that Finland’s leaders have already discussed the matter with “almost all” NATO members, and he “almost daily” talks about it with neighboring Sweden which is also considering joining the bloc.
In an interview with Reuters, published on Monday, Haavisto said that Finland needs to be prepared for retaliation from Russia and “also listen to how NATO countries would react.”
“We don’t need to make any quick decisions on our own defense, but certainly a possible membership application could lead to making us a target of interference or hybrid actions,” the foreign minister explained.