Finland must apply for NATO membership 'without delay,' president and PM say

Finland must apply to join the NATO military alliance "without delay," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday, a major policy shift triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland, which shares a 1,300 kilometer border and a difficult past with Russia, has gradually stepped up its cooperation with the bloc as a partner since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites. If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.