Finland's Parliament votes in favour of NATO membership despite apparent Russian threat

The Finnish lawmakers approved the proposal of applying for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday. The historic development came as the 188 MPs voted in favour of the proposal while eight were voted against it. During the vote, three lawmakers were absent. This came merely days after Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced that the Nordic country would apply right away for membership in NATO, citing the evolving security situation in Ukraine.

However, the proposal was opposed by several members, including, MP Markus Mustajarvi, who tabled a counter-motion, arguing that Finland should remain militarily non-aligned. This resulted in the issue being moved to Parliament for a debate. Subsequently, on Monday, the Parliament began to vote. Since May 16, a total of 212 speeches were made to Parliament during the 14-hour plenary session that preceded the vote, reported Yleisradio Oy. 

Earlier on May17, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, while addressing Swedish Parliament, said, "Russia's grand offensive against Ukraine made it clear that Russia, once more, is ready to use its armed forces in nearby areas to reach its goals. The sum of these factors demonstrated that our traditional positioning was unsustainable." On May 15,  Niinisto also held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, where the latter warned Helsinki to face military repercussions. Putin said that the relations between the two neighbours could be “negatively affected” if Finland follows through with its plans.

Putin's warning Finland 

According to the statement released by Kremlin Press Service, Putin told his Finland counterpart that the abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error. Putin stressed that there are no threats to Finland’s security. "Such a change in the country’s foreign policy course could hurt Russia-Finland relations, which have been built over many years in the spirit of neighbourliness and partnership cooperation and have a mutually beneficial nature," read the statement released by Kremlin. Meanwhile, Niinisto, in his reply told Putin that the security situation has changed drastically ever since Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Image: AP