Finland’s leaders say country should apply for NATO membership ‘without delay’

A French soldier takes part in a major drill as part of NATO’s EFP (Enhance forward presence) operation at the Tapa Estonian army camp near Rakvere, on February 6, 2022.

President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said Thursday that the country should apply to join NATO.

Thursday's announcement is the strongest sign yet that Finland will apply to join NATO. The Nordic country has had a policy of military neutrality for decades.

The leaders said in a joint statement that they hoped the national steps still needed to make the decision would be taken quickly.

NATO membership would strengthen the entire defence alliance, as well as strengthen the security of Finland.

The government will debate the issue over the weekend and the parliament is expected to approve the application as early as Monday.

The security situation in Finland has changed because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

There is a chance that the move from Helsinki could lead to aggression from Russia.

Russia has land borders with 14 countries and five of them are NATO members, so if it joined the military alliance, the land border with Russia would double.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia showed the Kremlin is willing to attack a neighboring nation. In 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland in what became known as the Winter War.

NATO was founded in 1949 by the U.S., Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against Russia.

After the collapse of the Russian Federation in 1991, the alliance had a rocky relationship with the Soviet Union.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated soon.