Finland's president initiated phone call with Putin to tell him the country is applying to join NATO

Sauli Niinist called Putin on Saturday to tell him that his country would like to join NATO.

Russia has previously warned against the country joining NATO and claimed it would be a national security threat.

The call between Niinist and Putin took place on Saturday.

The conversation was straight forward and direct. Niinist said in the release that avoiding tensions was important.

According to the press release, Niinist reminded Putin that every independent nation maximizes its security.

This is what is happening now as well. By joining NATO, it assumes responsibility for its own security. It is not away from anyone else.

The president and prime minister ofFinland issued a strong statement in favor of joining the military alliance on Thursday. The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Finland would be welcomed into NATO.

According to the press release, the president of the Finns repeated his deep concern over the human suffering caused by the war Russia wages in Ukraine.

Public support for NATO membership has reached an all-time high in both Sweden and Finland.