Finland

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has come out against allowing Sweden and Finland to join Nato, putting the two Nordic countries' hopes of joining ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has thrown Sweden and Finland's potential NATO membership into doubt, just as both countries are on the cusp of applying ...

Public support for joining the organization in both countries has soared since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. "They are even members of the parliament in some countries," he added. Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said she was very confident that her country's membership bid would receive unanimous backing from NATO members. He also referenced NATO's acceptance of Greece as a member in 1952 as a mistake. Furthermore, Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organizations," Erdogan said. NATO ascension for a new member state requires consensus approval from all existing members.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has cast doubt on Finnish and Swedish membership of Nato, saying he does not have a positive opinion of the two ...

Turkey has been a Nato member since 1952 and its membership remains a cornerstone of its foreign policy towards western countries. Linde noted that Finnish and Swedish Nato membership would be considered “negative” by Russia. She said neither country expected a “conventional military attack” in reaction but added that “an armed assault cannot be ruled out”. To go even further, they have seats in their parliaments, too.” Finland and Sweden, while both Nato partners, have long viewed membership as an unnecessary provocation of Russia, their powerful eastern neighbour. Parliament will debate security issues on Monday. Moscow has previously warned that Finnish and Swedish Nato membership would force it to “restore balance” by strengthening its defences in the Baltic, including by deploying nuclear weapons in Kaliningrad, between Poland and Lithuania.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted that Turkey could use its veto power to block the move. Support for joining NATO has increased in Finland and Sweden in recent ...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan hinted that Turkey could use its veto power to block the move. Finland and Sweden joining NATO is "not favourable" for Turkey, according to the country's president. Support for joining NATO has increased in Finland and Sweden in recent weeks, with politicians stating that joining the military alliance would create security guarantees for them.

Russian state-owned utility Inter RAO will stop exporting electricity to Finland from Saturday because it has not been paid, the company's Finnish ...

We provide the transfer connection from Russia to Finland," Reima Paivinen, Fingrid's senior-vice president for operations, told Reuters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed the two countries to reconsider NATO membership.

Inclusion of Finland and Sweden will transform how it does its military planning in the Nordic, Arctic, and Baltic regions. In the meantime, NATO and its members are offering some assurances during the application period. Both meet the political criteria, as strong, established democracies, and the close cooperation with NATO means they already have a high level of interoperability — military speak for their systems and tactics being in sync. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement Thursday that should Finland apply, “they will be warmly welcomed.” They do military exercises together and share some intelligence; both Sweden and Finland supported NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. And NATO’s open door remained, well, open to Sweden and Finland, but it was not something either had to pursue unless the security situation in Europe drastically shifted. Especially in recent years, Finland and Sweden have become strong partners with NATO — they are basically as close as a country can get to the alliance without formally being in it. Of recent ascensions, it took Montenegro 18 months, but there’s a general expectation that Finland and Sweden will proceed even more rapidly. “It’s still much more an evolution rather than revolution, in a way, the attitude towards NATO,” said Sinikukka Saari, a Leading Researcher on Russia and Foresight at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. That forced Finland to adopt a stance of nonalignment during the Cold War, although with quite a lot of Soviet meddling and domestic political influence. Finland’s resolve is, in some ways, pulling Sweden along with it, which experts said is a bit more politically divided on the issue, and is reckoning more deeply with its longstanding tradition of nonalignment. What happens in Helsinki is being closely watched in Stockholm. Sweden’s parliament issued a report Friday that said joining NATO would “raise the threshold” for military conflict. That swing in public opinion — there is now majority support for joining NATO in both Finland and Sweden — reflected a broader awakening that the status quo with Russia would not hold.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is "not favorable" toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating Turkey could use ...

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If Sweden and Finland join NATO, their membership would mark one of the biggest changes to the alliance in decades.

Russian exports of electricity to Finland are to be suspended from May 14, Finland s transmission system operator Fingrid said May 13.

"Due to problems in receiving payments for electricity sold on the market, further direct or bilateral sales of electricity imported from Russia will be halted until further notice," RAO Nordic said in a market message on the Nord Pool website. "RAO Nordic Oy, a Russian subsidiary of Inter RAO, which trades in electricity on 400 kV connections, will suspend the import of electricity to Finland on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 1:00 am," Fingrid said. Russian exports of electricity to Finland are to be suspended from May 14, Finland's transmission system operator Fingrid said May 13.

There's enough electricity in Finland even without imports from Russia, according to Fingrid Oy, which operates the country's transmission system. Those flows ...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his country is "not favorable" toward Finland and Sweden joining NATO, indicating Turkey could use ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier said on Friday as tensions rise over Helsinki's NATO bid following the war in.

Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay: Finnish President and PMFinland must apply to join the NATO military alliance “without delay”, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on ... World News Kremlin says Finland joining NATO is ‘definitely’ a threat to RussiaThe Kremlin said Thursday that neighboring Finland joining NATO would “definitely” represent a threat to Russia, after the Finnish leadership backed ... World News The Kremlin has warned Russia would “definitely” see Finnish membership as a threat, while the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow would be “forced to take reciprocal steps, military-technical and other, to address the resulting threats.”

VAINIKKALA, Finland — At the train station in this small village, where the rail link between Finland's capital Helsinki and Russia's northern metropolis ...

“Look in the mirror.” Just outside Vainikkala, the marks of that conflict are well-preserved. In late February, as Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the mood shifted. Once the service had helped Finnish expats leave Russia following the invasion, it was shut down. “You caused this,” he said. There wasn’t a single patron in the nearby Cafe Finlandia. Double trains carrying over 700 people ran to coincide with holidays like New Year’s Day. Gaps between cars often lasted several minutes at the road’s eastern reaches. “We spent 20 years building this business and now we’re fighting to survive.” “Of course, we condemn the Russian aggression and war in Ukraine, so we don’t want to do business with Russia, so we shut down the service,” Simola said. The four high-speed machines — which are painted in the colors of the Finnish and Russian flags — now sit in a depot in Helsinki where Finnish engineers maintain them. “It’s a nightmare,” said Ville Laihia, the son of the owner, from behind the counter.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday (local time) that his country is "not favourable" toward Finland and Sweden joining Nato, ...

The top American diplomat for Europe, Karen Donfried, told reporters ahead of Blinken's trip that the United States remains supportive of Finland and Sweden's prospective Nato membership bids. Cavusoglu spoke Friday with Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, but Turkey's Foreign Ministry did not provide details. This is all what I can say at the moment. Sweden's governing Social Democratic Party, led by Andersson, is expected to reveal its decision Sunday. He claimed the action had allowed Greece "to take an attitude against Turkey" with Nato's backing. "President Niinistö went through Finland's next steps toward Nato membership.

Recent pronouncements from Finland's highly regarded president, Sauli Niinistő, and its young Prime Minister Sanna Marin suggest that the wheels are very ...

The potential loss of Russian gas supplies is but a minor issue. Indeed, Finland could be considered a role model for Scotland. The populations are about the same. Wind power is also an increasing part of the mix while gas is a minor component, used only for some specific industrial applications. Finland within the EU stands as a prosperous upholder of liberal democratic principles. I suspect a significant change on a couple of years ago. This realistic approach may be out of reach in Ukraine. Winston Churchill said of Finland in 1940: “We cannot tell what the fate of Finland may be, but no more mournful spectacle could be presented than… This compares with 148,000 in the standing British Armed Forces. by the dull brutish force of overwhelming numbers.” The Finns understand what is going on in Ukraine. The fraught relations between the Russia and Finland go back well over a hundred years. The invasion of Ukraine has concentrated the minds of the Finnish people and their politicians. The same discussions are occurring in Sweden for similar reasons – not surprising, given the two countries’ proximity and values. Russian statements on the “consequences” of this move have already followed in short order.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Germany and France on Saturday for NATO and trade meetings, as Finland says it wants to join NATO in ...

AFP — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey did not have a “positive opinion” on Finland and Sweden joining NATO, throwing up a ...

If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will: “We will then have the opportunity to discuss a potential Swedish NATO application,” Sweden’s foreign minister Ann Linde said in a statement to AFP, also noting the “Turkish government had not delivered this type of message directly to us.” AFP — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said Turkey did not have a “positive opinion” on Finland and Sweden joining NATO, throwing up a potential obstacle for the nations’ membership bid.

Finland has had a decades-long policy of military neutrality that would come to an end if it becomes a full member of the military alliance.

Finland has been reviewing its security policy in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which showed the Kremlin is willing attack a neighboring nation. "Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay." "NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security" and that Finland's membership would in turn "strengthen the entire defence alliance."

The statement of support for NATO from President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin had been expected, after the Finnish government recently ...

It is widely acknowledged among NATO officials that Finland joining the alliance would be a significant boost in countering Russian aggression because of how seriously the country has historically treated its own security. European diplomats and security officials widely assume that Finland could join the alliance quickly once negotiations start, as it has been buying military hardware compatible with its Western allies, including the US, for decades and already meets many of the criteria for membership. Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay.

The statement by the president and prime minister comes a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited both Finland and Sweden to sign a military ...

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Sauli Niinisto and Sanna Marin make call after support in country for move trebles since Ukraine war.

Finland’s foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, told the European parliament on Thursday that accession to Nato would strengthen security in the region. It has only been invoked once in the organisation’s history, in response to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks. Nordic media have previously said the two countries were likely to submit a joint application. Finland must apply for Nato membership as a matter of urgency.” “History being made by our northern neighbours,” she tweeted. A positive decision would then be presented to parliament for approval early next week.

The Kremlin reacted by warning it will be forced to take retaliatory “military-technical” steps.

NATO’s funnelling of weapons and other military support to Ukraine already has been critical to Kyiv’s surprising success in stymieing the invasion, and the Kremlin warned anew in ominous terms Thursday that the aid could lead to direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that Moscow “will be forced to take retaliatory steps of military-technical and other characteristics in order to counter the emerging threats to its national security.” Sweden, likewise, is considering applying.

Russia has said it will be forced to take "retaliatory steps" over its neighbour Finland's move to join Nato.

Look in the mirror," he said. "Joining Nato would not be against anyone. Sweden does not have a border with Russia. Finland must apply for Nato membership without delay." "As a member of Nato, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance. "Finland's accession to Nato will cause serious damage to bilateral Russian-Finnish relations and the maintaining of stability and security in the Northern European region," it said.

HELSINKI — Nordic governments have set about deepening regional defense cooperation against the backdrop of the very real expectation that non-aligned ...

We are in the process of deepening our operational cooperation that will enable us to improve our interoperability, deterrence and territorial defense,” the statement said. These are some of the benefits of NATO membership if we decide to join,” said Hultqvist. “The Prime Minister and President of Finland have sent a clear message. We hope that the steps at a national level that are still needed to make this decision possible will be taken rapidly over coming days,” the joint statement continued. “Now that the moment of decision-making is near, we state our shared views. Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin issued a joint announcement on Thursday backing NATO membership.