Finland to apply to NATO

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 12 May 2022 by Alex Teddy
On May 12 the Prime Minister and President of Finland both signed their formal intention to apply to to the 30 nation military alliance. Finland signed a 1944 treaty with the USSR vowing never to join a military alliance. The Finnish President said his country's decision to reverse 78 years of policy is directly due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The Finnish Military is very small due to the 1944 peace treaty. To compensate for its small size the Finnish Military buys state of the art weapons. It is formidable. Finland is already in Partnership for Peace. Its military systems are interoperable with NATO. Moscow said Finnish membership of NATO would be a threat. Moreover, it said the move would imperil European security. Moscow warned the Finns not to apply to NATO. But with the Russian Army mired in Ukraine it seems Russia has few assets with which to chastise the Finns. Applications to NATO usually take months to consider. The NATO Secretary-General said this one should be fast tracked. There is no sign that any country will veto it. Bulgaria had fairly cordial relations with Russia but Moscow cutting off gas damaged that. The Prime Minister of Hungary was pro-Russian but has not hinted at a veto. Greece had warm relations with Moscow but again has not indicated that it might block Finland's membership.There is a considerable chance that Sweden will also apply to NATO. Sweden has a large arms industry. The British Prime Minister visited Sweden and Finland. The UK signed a defense pact with both countries. The United Kingdom vowed to come to their aid if Russia attacks before they join NATO. The UK will deploy more troops to the region. Sweden, Finland and the UK w...

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