Jari Tanner for Associated Press reports in part:
"HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s leaders said [May 12, 2022] they’re in favor of rapidly applying for NATO membership, paving the way for a historic expansion of the alliance that could deal a serious blow to Russia as its military struggles with its war in Ukraine.
The annoucement by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin means that Finland is all but certain to join the Western military alliance, though a few steps remain before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on seeking NATO membership in coming days.
“NATO membership would strengthen Finland’s security. As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defence alliance,” Niinisto and Marin said in a joint statement.
“Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay,” they said. “We hope that the national steps still needed to make this decision will be taken rapidly within the next few days.”
Russia reacted to the development with a warning. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Finland joining NATO would “inflict serious damage to Russian-Finnish relations as well as stability and security in Northern Europe.”
“Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps of military-technical and other characteristics in order to counter the emerging threats to its national security,” the ministry said.
...During a joint news conference with [Boris] Johnson in Helsinki this week, Niinisto said Moscow could only blame itself should his nation of 5.5 million people become a NATO member.
...In 2017, Sweden and Finland joined the British-led Joint Expeditionary Force, which is designed to be more flexible and respond more quickly than the larger NATO alliance. The force uses NATO standards and doctrine so it can operate in conjunction with the alliance, the United Nations or other multinational coalitions. [Both Finland and Sweden use Leopard 2 tanks.]
Fully operational since 2018, the force has held a number of exercises both independently and in cooperation with NATO.
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine prompted Finland and Sweden to reconsider their traditions of military nonalignment and to contemplate joining NATO itself. Public opinion in the two countries quickly started to shift toward favoring membership, first in Finland and a bit later in Sweden, after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
...During the Cold War, Finland stayed away from NATO to avoid provoking the Soviet Union, instead opting to remain a neutral buffer between the East and the West while maintaining good relations with Moscow and also with the United States.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the military alliance would welcome Finland and Sweden — both of which have strong, modern militaries — with open arms and that he expects the accession process to be speedy and smooth.
NATO officials say the Nordic duo’s accession process could be done “in a couple of weeks.” The most time consuming part of the procedure – ratification of the country’s protocol by the existing NATO members – could be completed in less time than the four or so months it took West Germany, Turkey and Greece to join in the 1950s, when there were only 12 members to ratify their applications...."