Finland’s leaders back NATO bid in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

“The war started by Russia jeopardizes the security and stability of the whole of Europe,” Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told European lawmakers Thursday. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered the European and Finnish security environment.” Niinisto and Marin said that Finland’s membership in NATO would strengthen the entire defense alliance.

The Kremlin immediately hit back, saying Finland’s accession to NATO would “definitely” threaten Russia’s security — as European leaders said they would welcome the new addition and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg predicted a smooth process if Helsinki filed an application.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO expansionism as a reason for his invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s accession to the alliance would double its land border with Russia.

“The expansion of NATO does not make our continent more stable and secure,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told journalists Thursday, according to Russian news outlet Interfax. Peskov said Russia could take new measures to “balance the situation” if Finland joins the alliance.

“NATO is moving in our direction,” he said.

A green light from Finland’s leaders is the first step toward a formal application, with the proposal also requiring approval from the country’s Parliament. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days,” Niinisto and Marin said in a statement. Their announcement comes one day after Helsinki signed a mutual security agreement with London.

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Stoltenberg said if Finland applied to join NATO, its accession process “would be smooth and swift,” according to Reuters. “Finland is one of NATO’s closest partners, a mature democracy, a member of the European Union, and an important contributor to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Haavisto said Finland is not facing an “immediate military threat.”

Yet following Finland’s announcement, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former Russian president, said NATO’s support of Ukraine and the conduct of military exercises in countries bordering Russia “increase the likelihood of a direct and open conflict between NATO and Russia.”

“This kind of conflict is always at risk of turning into a full-fledged nuclear war,” Medvedev said.

A top U.S. intelligence official told senators on Tuesday that Russia may threaten more nuclear weapons exercises if Washington ignored its warnings not to interfere in Ukraine, but she said she did not believe there was an imminent threat of Putin using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

“We otherwise continue to believe that Putin would probably only authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat,” Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said.

Putin prepared for ‘prolonged’ conflict, U.S. intelligence chief says

The move by Finland’s leaders underscores how much Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sparked changes in Europe’s security posture, and it comes a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed defense accords with Finland and Sweden, pledging to come to their aid in the event of a crisis or an attack.

Niinisto said Thursday that he notified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of his support for a Finnish membership bid to NATO. Zelensky said he “commended” the move.

In the capitals of the European Union and other NATO countries, the Finnish leaders’ statement was greeted with expressions of support and promises to keep Finland’s application process as short as possible.

European Council President Charles Michel said Finland joining NATO would “greatly contribute to European security.”

Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said “NATO is about to get stronger,” while the Baltic region is “about to get safer.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country “will of course warmly welcome Finland to NATO” and “do everything for a quick accession process after the formal application.”

NATO leaders have said that Finland, which shares an 800-mile border with Russia, will be welcomed by the alliance if it decides to join. Neighboring Sweden is also drawing closer to NATO because of the war in Ukraine, and the Swedish tabloid Expressen reported that a decision from Sweden on joining the defense alliance could come as soon as Monday, citing unnamed sources.

Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Ann Linde said her country should “take [the Finnish] assessments into account” when making a decision on NATO membership.

Now that Finnish leaders have expressed their support for a NATO membership bid, the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy will meet with Finland’s president to formally decide whether the country should apply, then submit a proposal to lawmakers. The committee is set to meet Sunday, Agence France Press reported, citing Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.

The Finnish Parliament’s defense committee has already recommended joining NATO, while the major parliamentary parties have also expressed support for a military alliance. Public support for joining NATO is also high in Finland and has been growing since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several Finnish lawmakers and officials expressed their support of the Finnish leaders’ position Thursday. Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen said “NATO membership significantly raises the threshold for Finland to be subject to military attack.”

Li Andersson, chair of the Left Alliance in Finland’s Parliament, which has been plagued by internal disagreements over the prospect of NATO membership, wrote that she was prepared to support it.

“I am ready to accept Finland’s NATO membership, because it is the will of the Finnish people and the clear majority of the Finnish Parliament,” Andersson said.

Jaclyn Peiser and Andrew Jeong contributed to this report.