Exclusive: Joining NATO based on parliamentary discussions: Finnish FM
Finland's FM tells Al Mayadeen that several issues could drive his country to think of joining NATO.
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Finland's FM to Al Mayadeen: The decision to join NATO will be taken following parliamentary discussions.
Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said today, Thursday, that the decision to join NATO will be taken based on the results of parliamentary discussions.
In a statement to Al Mayadeen, Haavisto said, "There are three issues that make us consider a NATO membership."
The Finnish Foreign Minister confirmed that Russian gas is flowing to Finland naturally, noting that there are no problems with payments.
This comes after Finland's European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen announced earlier it was "very likely" that her country would "submit an application to join NATO, but the decision has not been taken yet."
Tuppurainen believes that the Finns have made their decision, and there is a large majority in favor of joining NATO.
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned of the consequences of Finland and Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and said this accession would affect the European security structure in general.
It added that the territories of these two countries have been under the control of NATO for a long time and an arena for conducting its military maneuvers, the aim of which is to continue building military capabilities and geographical expansion to create another aspect of the threat to Russia.
