Finland says debate on NATO membership 'will change' after Russian invasion

[lost in melb.]

Thu, February 24, 2022, 10:02 AM

Finish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Thursday said Russia's invasion of Ukraine will change the debate around NATO membership within her country.

"Finland is not currently facing an immediate military threat, but it is also now clear that the debate on NATO membership in Finland will change," Marin said, YLE News reported.

Finland has been debating for months whether the country should apply for NATO membership, with Marin saying it would require broad support for the country to move forward with an application.

https://news.yahoo.com/finland-says-...160250185.html

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I have a feeling that there will be a lot of non-NATO countries looking to apply for membership now.

[Muddy]

Eesh another Russian border country.. Looking for trouble... Gonna pull us right into the middle of it... But! If Sanna Marin will let me squirt on her tube I may consider it..





Finlands P.M. ^^^^ Fuck..!

[DemonGeminiX]

Wasn't Jussi fond of telling us that Finland was the only country that beat Russia in battle, where the odds heavily favored Russia?

[Muddy]

Wasn't Jussi fond of telling us that Finland was the only country that beat Russia in battle, where the odds heavily favored Russia?

Oh yeah, it was called the "Winter War" and Finland fucked them hard..

[DemonGeminiX]

Maybe, since Finland's capable of going all Rambo on Russia's ass, they might be a good addition to NATO.

[Godfather]

Oh yeah, it was called the "Winter War" and Finland fucked them hard..

It read a book on the Winter War last year. It was pretty fucking hardcore. I'm not saying they couldn't do it now, but man it was awful for the Fins. Seems like joining NATO is a better option.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Peter Aitken | Fox News




Support in Finland to join NATO has doubled since just one year ago, with a majority now voicing support for the first time since polling started in 1984.

Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA has collected data twice each year for almost 40 years to track attitudes and values, which includes politics, economics, foreign relations, the environment and well-being. Chief among those interests remains whether Finland should join NATO.

Results from Autumn 2021 found only 26% of the population supported joining NATO, but following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that number has leapt to 60% support for NATO membership. The same percentage of Finns support taking a decision this year on the matter.

Historic support for joining NATO has remained low, with the previous peak in Autumn 1998 showing just 28% support.

The study clearly cited Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as responsible for the shift in opinion.

"The change is beyond comparison, both in terms of size and speed," EVA noted. The survey sampled over 2,000 responses from across a range of ages 18 to 79.

"The change in attitudes observed in the survey is a result of the Finns’ reaction to the change in their security environment, which seems to have left the old security policy philosophy, which had dominated in Finland for many years, without a foundation."

The study said that Russia has shown it "does not respect its neighbor’s sovereignty" and made real the "terrible nature of a defensive war fought on a country’s own territory."

Finland and Russia share a particularly hostile history, most notably culminating in the Winter War of 1939 during which the Soviet Union attempted to invade Finland at the start of World War II.

The Soviet Union suffered devastating losses estimated between 126,000 and 168,000 troops dead or missing. Finland lost just shy of 26,000 troops.

The Soviet Union cited security concerns and demanded borderland territory from Finland, even establishing a puppet Finnish Communist government known as the Finnish Democratic Republic, which the Soviets used as justification to invade Finland.

Only the Soviets recognized the Finnish Democratic Republic, as is the case with the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic.

[lost in melb.]

Beautiful.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

by Peter Aitken - FOX News


Finland will announce its decision on an application for NATO membership on May 12, Finnish news outlet Iltalehti reported.

The outlet reported that "the position is that Finland is applying for membership."

Finish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin will review the application with party leaders before reporting the decision to NATO. Niinisto will also hold a press conference to announce his position and those of the state leadership and the party field.

The decision will be confirmed by a committee formed by the president and key ministers.

[Muddy]

Yeah and Russia is already starting to move troops to their border now.

[DemonGeminiX]

Yeah and Russia is already starting to move troops to their border now.

That's ok. Jussi will kick their ass.

[Muddy]

That's ok. Jussi will kick their ass.

No doubt, they are the greatest country in the world and all...

[lost in melb.]

Yeah and Russia is already starting to move troops to their border now.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Tyler O'Neil | Fox News




The president and prime minister of Finland, a country on the border of Russia, released a statement backing an application for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Thursday amid the Kremlin's aggression on Europe's eastern flank, particularly in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman issued an ominous statement on the move.

"NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security," Finland President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said in a joint statement. "As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance."

They called for the country to proceed immediately.

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay," the leaders added. "We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days."

In the statement, Niinistö and Marin noted that the country has engaged in "an important discussion" on NATO membership, for which "time has been needed to let Parliament and the whole society establish their stands on the matter." The country also delayed in order to develop "close international contacts with NATO and its member countries, as well as with Sweden."

Dmitry Pesvok, Putin's spokesman, said that "Finland’s entry into NATO will become a threat to Russia."

The statement comes one day after the United Kingdom shored up its defense alliances with Sweden and Finland.

"Today we made history by signing a joint declaration of solidarity to strengthen our security and defense ties and bring our nations even closer together," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a tweet after meeting with his Swedish counterpart. "We are literally and metaphorically in the same boat."



Germany and the United States already have agreements to defend Finland and Sweden against Russian aggression.

Last month Moscow threatened that if Sweden and Finland joined the military alliance then it would position nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles along its western border.



Sweden has avoided military alliances for more than 200 years, while Finland adopted neutrality after being defeated by the Soviet Union in World War II.

The capital city of Finland, Helsinki, sits across the Gulf of Finland from Russia's historic capital, St. Petersburg.