Finland, which has one of Europe’s longest borders with Russia, yesterday began a parliamentary debate aimed at accelerating the nation’s bid to join NATO, increasing the likelihood it would leave neighbor and military partner Sweden behind.
Spooked by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden dropped their decades-long policies of military non-alignment and applied to join NATO in May last year, but facing fewer diplomatic hurdles than Stockholm, Helsinki appears set to move forward even before Finland’s general elections next month, as public opinion also supports membership in the transatlantic military alliance.
The two nations have the support of all but two of NATO’s 30 members, the holdouts being Hungary and particularly Turkey.
Photo: AFP
Many Finnish lawmakers have pushed for legislation affirming that Finland accepts the terms of the NATO treaty to be passed before the elections on April 2.
Finland was to debate the bill yesterday, coinciding with a visit from NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg — who was due to meet with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin and President Sauli Niinisto.
A vote is expected by today, and having the bill passed means that Finland could act swiftly even if the ratifications come in before a new government has been formed.
The legislation is expected to pass without much opposition, as the initial membership bid was supported by 188 of 200 lawmakers.
Helsinki has so far stressed its preference to join the alliance together with Sweden, but some have interpreted the bill as signaling that Finland is ready to move forward alone.
Turkey has blocked the bids, accusing Sweden in particular of providing a safe haven for what it considers “terrorists,” especially members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.
By contrast, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday said that Turkey looked favorably on Finland’s bid.
“We may separate Sweden and Finland’s membership process,” Cavusoglu said.
While Sweden sympathizes with Finland’s position, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said Finland joining alone could “complicate” the close military cooperation between the Nordic nations.
While passing the bill does not mean that Finland would automatically join NATO after ratification by Turkey and Hungary, it puts in place a deadline for how long it can wait for its neighbor.
Finnish Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti said that after the bill is approved by parliament, the president can wait a maximum of three months to sign it.
After the president has signed the law, there is still some time to wait for Sweden, “a few weeks at most,” before depositing the instruments of accession to Washington.
Niinisto told reporters that he intended to sign the law “as soon as it is approved by parliament,” but “if there are practical reasons, I can wait.”
“But not beyond the elections,” he added.
Cavusoglu on Monday also announced that negotiations between the three nations would resume on Thursday next week, after talks with Sweden were dropped over a row about protests held in Stockholm, including a burning of the Koran in front of the Turkish embassy.
Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon and Scream star Melissa Barrera were each dropped by Hollywood companies after making comments on the Israel-Hamas war that some deemed anti-Semitic. Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind the upcoming Scream VII, acknowledged Barrera’s exit from the horror franchise. The Mexican-born actress, who starred in In the Heights and the two recent Scream installments, had posted statements on Instagram Stories calling the war “genocide and ethnic cleansing.” “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” she wrote. Spyglass said in a statement that its position “is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement
‘SYMBOLIC ATTACK’: Ukraine said it downed 74 of the Iranian-made drones, but five people were wounded in Kyiv, as people marked Holodomor Remembrance Day Ukraine on Saturday said it had downed 74 out of 75 drones Russia launched at it overnight, in what it said was the biggest such attack since the start of the invasion in February last year. The Ukrainian army said Russia had launched a “record number” of Iranian-made Shahed drones, the majority of which targeted Kyiv, causing power cuts as temperatures dipped below freezing. The drone attack came as Ukraine marked Holodomor Remembrance Day, commemorating the 1930s starvation of millions in Ukraine under Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. “The enemy launched a record number of attack drones at Ukraine. The main direction
Ecologists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico on Friday relaunched a fundraising campaign to bolster conservation efforts for axolotls, an iconic, endangered fish-like type of salamander. The campaign, called “Adoptaxolotl,” asks people for as little as 600 pesos (US$35) to virtually adopt one of the tiny “water monsters.” Virtual adoption comes with live updates on your axolotl’s health. For less, donors can buy one of the creatures a virtual dinner. In their main habitat the population density of Mexican axolotls has plummeted 99.5 percent in under two decades, scientists behind the fundraiser said. Last year’s Adoptaxolotl campaign raised just more than 450,000
CLAIMS: The North Korean leader reportedly inspected images taken by his new spy satellite of Pearl Harbor and a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Busan State media yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reviewed images taken by his country’s new spy satellite of a US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and “major target” sites across South Korea. Pyongyang said it put a military spy satellite into orbit this week, but Seoul said it was too early to determine if the satellite was functioning as the North claims. Experts have said putting a working reconnaissance satellite into orbit would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and provide crucial data in any military conflict. Pyongyang previously said, within hours of the