Decisions from both Finland and Sweden are expected shortly on their intentions to join Nato.
AFP reports that the Finnish government is expected to officially announce its intention to join Nato on Sunday, as Sweden’s ruling party holds a decisive meeting that could pave the way for a joint application. If they opt to go ahead with those applications, it would reverse policies on military non-alignment dating back more than 75 years in Finland and two centuries in Sweden.
Putin warned Finland via a statement that such plans would “negatively affect Russian-Finnish relations”.
Finnish president Sauli Niinistö’s office said he had told Putin in a phone discussion how starkly Finland’s security environment had changed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “The discussion [with Putin] was straightforward and unambiguous and was held without exaggeration... By joining Nato, Finland will strengthen its own security and assume its responsibilities.