Finland's parliament Wednesday has opened a debate on whether to seek NATO membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked a surge in political and public support for joining the military alliance, AFP reports.
Despite Russia's warning of a nuclear build-up in the Baltic should Finland and neighboring Sweden join the military alliance, Finland's prime minister said that her country would now decide quickly on whether to apply for membership.
"I think it will happen quite fast. Within weeks, not within months," Prime Minister Sanna Marin said last week.
The 200 MPs in Finland's Eduskunta last week received a government-commissioned "white paper" that assessed the implications of NATO membership alongside other security options, such as increased bilateral defence agreements.
