Finland and Sweden are making moves to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) despite warnings from Russian authorities as the issue of becoming a member of the treaty have become controversial due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin previously used Ukraine's potential inclusion in NATO as one of the reasons for the war. He wanted to assert Russian authority in Eastern Europe and warned the West about expanding militarily and politically toward the country's borders.
Finland and Sweden With NATO
However, Putin's plans may have failed as the war has only worked to unite the West against Russia in a way that was seemingly impossible and unimaginable in January. Finland is expected to produce a report regarding its security policy this week, which is a crucial step on the path to having the nation potentially apply for a NATO membership.
The report will allegedly begin discussions in Finland's parliament about whether or not to pursue an inclusion into the alliance. Talks with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin noted that she was hoping the negotiations would wrap up "before mid-summer," as per CNN.
On the other hand, Sweden's Social Democrats, who have long been against the idea of a NATO membership, recently issued a statement saying they were reevaluating that position. The inclusion of the two countries would also require at least two-thirds of the U.S. Senate to agree to the membership.
The situation could prove to be a rather difficult issue for Republicans due to a Trump-era drift into more skepticism of NATO. The last two expansions of the treaty came in 1999 when Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, joined the alliance.
According to the Washington Post, in 2004, seven former communist countries and Soviet republics opted to join the treaty as well, dealing a major blow to Russia. While this was not especially controversial in the U.S. Senate, having a 96-0 vote in support of the memberships, the 1999 incident presented important lessons on how Finland and Sweden could be included in the treaty.
Putin's Plan Backfires
The indications of the two nations joining NATO prompted warnings from Russian authorities on Monday. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the alliance a "tool of confrontation" and said that further expansion would "not bring stability to the European continent." His remarks came a day after U.S. officials reportedly anticipated Finland to apply to NATO as early as June.
Earlier this month, Russian officials warned Finland and Sweden that if they joined the treaty, Moscow would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures. On Apr. 7, Peskov said that Russia would "make our western flank more sophisticated in terms of ensuring our security" if the two nations joined NATO.
Marin said that "Russia is not the neighbor we thought it was" after Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine that has been going on for more than a month. Finland has always organized its own protection. However, public opinion has been swayed by Putin's war on Ukraine and caused citizens to be in favor of joining the alliance, the Independent reported.
Related Article:
Russia Warns of Legal Action as Credit Ratings Agency Claims Moscow Is in 'Selective Default'
