Finnish President Sauli Niinistö signed the laws on the country’s accession to NATO. The Head of State signed the Government Proposal for the Approval and Entry into Force of the North Atlantic Treaty and the Agreement on the Status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Representatives and International Staff. Commitment to the aforementioned agreements”, follows from agenda meetings of the Government of the Republic.
The Finnish parliament approved the country’s entry into NATO on March 1, 2023. To join the alliance, the consent of all 30 NATO countries is required. On March 27, the Hungarian parliament will vote on Finland’s application to join the alliance. On March 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the decision to start ratifying Finland’s accession to NATO.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at today’s briefing that Finland’s decision to join NATO aggravates the military-political situation in the region. “It was adopted without wide public discussion, under the influence of an unprecedented Russophobic campaign in the media. Moreover, we understand that the United States of America and a number of its allies in the alliance are behind this political campaign,” said Ms. Zakharova.
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022. On March 22, the deputies of the Swedish parliament approved the accession of the kingdom to NATO by a majority of votes. At the end of October 2022, the Finnish side promised to join NATO “hand in hand” with Sweden. Amid rising tensions with Sweden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled in January that Ankara could support Helsinki before Stockholm.
For more details, see the material “Kommersant” “A kind word and a Finn is pleased.”
