Finland does not plan to join NATO, but supports it against Russia: PM
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In an interview with Reuters, Finnish PM Sanna Marin clarifies that Finland does not support joining NATO in the time being - however, Russia's difficult neighbor would not mind endorsing tough sanctions on Moscow.
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Finland's Prime Minister, Sanna Marin (AFP)
Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said that Finland does not plan to join NATO in the near future, but it is ready to stand with European allies and the US by imposing tough sanctions on Russia if it attacks Ukraine.
"It would have a very substantial impact and the sanctions would be extremely tough," Marin said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
During Marin's term in office, there is not much chance that Finland would be applying to NATO - it is "unlikely," as she put it.
Finland shares 1,340 km of its border with Russia, in addition to a difficult history. However, instead of joining NATO, it would rather ally with it. Marin believes that other countries appreciate the way Finland was able to maintain a "function" relationship with Russia.
Yesterday, US President Joe Biden called Finnish President Sauli Niinisto - for the second time this month - to discuss "the importance of Finland's close defense partnership with the United States and with NATO."
Furthermore, according to Marin, Finland has the right to join NATO if it wanted to.
"Nobody can influence us, not the United States, not Russia, not anyone else," she asserted.
One of Finland's most prominent dailies, Helsingin Sanomat, conducted a poll regarding Finland's joining of NATO: 28% of participants wanted Finland to join the alliance, 42% voted against it, and the rest of the participants were not sure.
"All in all, I believe the NATO discussion will increase in the coming years," Marin said.
Finland's biggest ever arms deal
In December 2021, Finland decided to order 64 F-35A fighter jets from US contractor Lockheed Martin to replace its aging fleet in a $9.5 billion deal, the Finnish government said.
Helsinki had been put before choosing between Boeing, Dassault of France, Saab of Sweden, and the Eurofighter consortium of the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Lockheed Martin came on top and secured the deal with the Nordic state months after Switzerland picked the US aircraft.
This constitutes Finland's biggest ever arms deal.
"The F35 fulfilled the demands for preparedness, industrial cooperation, and cost," Finnish Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen told a press conference.
Lockheed Martin's rivals expressed disappointment over the decision with France's Dassault Aviation saying, "Once again we notice and regret an American preference prevailing in Europe."
Swedish defense minister Peter Hultqvist also voiced "regret" at the decision.
