More than a year after Russia started a war against Ukraine, last night Finland’s accession to NATO was approved by the Turkish parliament, a move that paves the way for the Nordic country to join the military alliance. The move there ended Finland’s neutrality during the decades of the Cold War, after the invasion of Ukraine swayed public opinion. in the country against the neighbor to the east, and in favor of an unequivocal step regarding the alliance with the West.
Finland has a border of more than 1,300 kilometers with Russia, and its accession more than doubles the area of the Russian border that is now directly adjacent to the 30 NATO member states (even before the accession of Finland and Sweden). Given the fact that Russia declared that it launched a war against Ukraine, among other things, to keep the alliance from its borders, this is a serious reflection on Russian security. In Finland, mandatory conscription is customary, it has a relatively large army, joint training and maneuvers with the NATO alliance, and it is considered an “additional force” to the European part of the military alliance, which still largely relies on the American forces .
The Russians tried in the last year to reduce the importance of Finland and Sweden joining the NATO alliance, when they announced that in fact they were members in practice – even if not officially – and that the real test will be if the alliance places permanent bases and permanent forces near the border with Russia. Also, placing missile systems in the territory of the countries will be considered by the Russians as a new development, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in the past.
But while Finland’s accession is getting closer, and now depends solely on formal procedures, that of neighboring Sweden has run into difficulties with Turkey. The Turkish parliament which yesterday approved the accession of Finland by a majority of votes is not intended to convene to discuss the approval of Sweden’s accession, after a frontal confrontation between the countries regarding some Kurdish activists and other opponents of the Turkish regime, who have found political asylum in Sweden.
Stockholm tried to please the Turks with statements, promises of arms supplies and some measures against extremist groups, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not relent. The Turkish veto, as of now, on Sweden’s accession, is hampering the process of enlarging the alliance. In Sweden it was reported that the approval – if received – will probably be done only after the general elections in Turkey, which are scheduled to take place in May.
In Finland, general elections will be held in the country this coming Sunday, but in any case the parliament has already decided in favor of joining. After the Turkish approval, and after Hungary also approved the Finnish accession earlier this week, it is now only a matter of submitting formal documents to the US. According to estimates, starting this May, Finland will become a full member of the alliance.