Yle News
April 13, 2022

Marin: Nato decision will happen “within weeks not months”

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) has said that Finland will likely decide on joining Nato within weeks.

“I won’t give any kind of timetable [for] when we will make our decisions. But I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months,” Marin stated at a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in Stockholm on Wednesday.

The ministers met to discuss the security situation in Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Several analysts expect both Finland and Sweden to apply for Nato membership in time for an upcoming summit in Madrid in June.

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“There is no other way to have security guarantees than under Nato’s deterrence and common defence as guaranteed by Nato’s Article 5,” Marin noted.

On Wednesday, the Finnish government submitted a report to Parliament on how the foreign and security policy environment has changed in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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According to Marin, the paper presents Nato not just as a military alliance, but as a political alliance.

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Sweden’s parliament is expected to receive its security report by the end of May. However, Andersson noted that the analysis could be completed before that.