Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
presidentti.fi
Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
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Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#2There was some discussion on plausible NATO membership of Finland and Sweden. At that point the disucssion was based on guestimates from media.
But now it's official. This is not the NATO membership application, but a statement from the political leadership in Finland that they support and suggest parliament proceeds with the application process with maximum urgency.
The President and Prime Minister of Finland have published their position on NATO membership. This more or less seals Finland joining NATO.
In Finnish system, the Prime Minister has most political power but president is the head of foreign policy. Their common statement was the required signal for the parliament to proceed with the process.
Translation: During the spring, there has been an important discussion about Finland's possible NATO membership. Time has been needed for domestic position formation both in Parliament and in society as a whole. Time has been needed for close international contacts with both NATO and its member countries, as well as with Sweden. We have wanted to give the debate the space it needs.
Now that the time for decision-making is approaching, we also state our own common positions for the information of parliamentary groups and parties. NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance. Finland must apply for NATO membership as a matter of urgency. We hope that the national steps still needed to reach this solution will be taken swiftly in the coming days.
Sauli Niinistö The president of the Republic
Sanna Marin Prime minister
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#3I'm not surprised that it's happening but I am surprised that it's taken less than three months for this to turn from a rumor to reality
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#4Has Finland significant pro-Russian politicians? Or at least pro before February 2022?
I visited there a while ago and there was a feel of Russian friendliness at the least with significant independence on the streets. But that's just my feelings and I wasn't paying attention back then.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#5I'm not surprised that it's happening but I am surprised that it's taken less than three months for this to turn from a rumor to reality
It is my experience that wars tend to add a sense of urgency.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#6Has Finland significant pro-Russian politicians? Or at least pro before February 2022? I visited there a while ago and there was a feel of Russian friendliness at the least with significant independence on the streets. But that's just my feelings and I wasn't paying attention back then.
Maybe it was just friendliness towards Russian people? This war is entirely political. Most Russians don't seem to want to invade other countries.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#7Has Finland significant pro-Russian politicians? Or at least pro before February 2022? I visited there a while ago and there was a feel of Russian friendliness at the least with significant independence on the streets. But that's just my feelings and I wasn't paying attention back then.
Maybe it was just friendliness towards Russian people? This war is entirely political. Most Russians don't seem to want to invade other countries.
Even the studies that assume a lot of people are lying to stay safe are saying at least 60% of Russians support the war and Putin.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#8There was some discussion on plausible NATO membership of Finland and Sweden. At that point the disucssion was based on guestimates from media. But now it's official. This is not the NATO membership application, but a statement from the political leadership in Finland that they support and suggest parliament proceeds with the application process with maximum urgency. The President and Prime Minister of Finland have p…
Putin's pan to not let NATO on Russian borders worked out great.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#9Has Finland significant pro-Russian politicians? Or at least pro before February 2022? I visited there a while ago and there was a feel of Russian friendliness at the least with significant independence on the streets. But that's just my feelings and I wasn't paying attention back then.
The Finnish political system was infiltrated by Russian assets (willing or just useful fools) for decades
[0]. Luckily this has abated in the last decades. The people have deep suspicion of the Russian state but no particular animosity towards russian people in general.
Most finns, especially the young generations, feel most affinity towards west in every sense.
The Finnish language is Finno-Ugric and unrelated to slavic tongues hence there is a huge language gap. Finns don't as a rule undertand russian.
The political and judicial system is based on western principles.
So Russia in general is a very alien entity not only linguistically but culturally as well.
The signal that drove to this was two-fold - first Russia at the end of last year forbade Sweden and Finland joining NATO, clearly signaling it considers these states as "it's property".
Then the war in Ukraine - Bucha and Mariupol - turned the perception of Russia into complete Mordor in a single stroke. It was very easy to replace Bucha and Mariupol with Finnish cities in ones imagination - and we still have people who remember the sound of Russian bombers striking our cities from '40s.
Finns in general do not exacerbate political tensions one way or another and are used to a mostly consensus-seeking political process. So not sure what signals you interpreted as "friendly" and what was just "common politeness".
The relationship with Russia is a bit conflicted - Finland rose from a dirt poor agrarian state to a fledling industrial state when it was a grand dutchy under a personal union with the Russian czar (so "part of Russia" but also "not part of Russia"). Most of the historical goodwill - if any - was destroyed by the russification attempts starting in late 19th century and were more or less eradicated during the second world war as Stalin tried to conquer Finland.
The war in Ukraine has made the Russian state appear twisted, dark, deranged and unpredictable for decades to come.
Re: Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
#10Has Finland significant pro-Russian politicians? Or at least pro before February 2022? I visited there a while ago and there was a feel of Russian friendliness at the least with significant independence on the streets. But that's just my feelings and I wasn't paying attention back then.
Maybe it was just friendliness towards Russian people? This war is entirely political. Most Russians don't seem to want to invade other countries.
> Most Russians don't seem to want to invade other countries.
Most Russians that a typical HN user would encounter — English-speaking, educated, probably with skills in demand inside and outside Russia — don't.
Typical Russians, on the other hand, are quite openly fascist at this point.