A day after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto vowed to join the NATO military alliance, he is reportedly set to call his Russian counterpart, RT News reported. According to the report by the Russian media outlet, Niinisto will talk about the changing security pattern as well as the urgency to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“I am going to call him… I’m not the kind of person who just slips around the corner," RT News quoted the Finnish President as saying. He reiterated that the county must apply for NATO without delay. However, reacting strongly to the announcement, Kremlin warned the country to face military repercussions if it joins the US-backed military alliance. According to Kremlin, Finland’s accession to NATO, after decades of neutrality, is a threat to Moscow.

Earlier on Thursday, Niinisto said, "You (Russia) caused this. Look in the mirror." Responding to his remarks, Russia's Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow "will be forced to take retaliatory steps of military-technical and other characteristics in order to counter the emerging threats to its national security." Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Finland's willingness to apply for NATO membership while discussing defence cooperation and Ukraine's EU membership with Finland's President. On the other hand, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that his country is “not favourable” to Finland and Sweden's decision to join NATO.

What is NATO?

NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance between 27 European countries, two North American countries, and one Eurasian country. The organisation implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on April 4, 1949. According to NATO, it is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO's founding treaty - Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.