Sweden and Finland announce historic plans to join NATO

Finland and Sweden have decided to apply for NATO membership, setting aside decades of de facto neutrality in light of growing concerns for their security in the wake of Russia's war on Ukraine, the two countries announced Sunday.

"A new era has begun," Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said in statements he made while Prime Minister Sanna Marin was standing next to him, announcing a move that the two leaders described as historic.

Subsequently, Sweden announced its intention to apply to join NATO, in a move that represented a major shift in its position on the defense alliance.

After Finland's announcement, the ruling Social Democratic Party, led by Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, announced its support for Sweden's membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after a specially convened meeting on Sunday.

However, Sweden's Social Democrats indicated that they wanted neither nuclear weapons nor permanent NATO bases on their soil.

"We are facing a fundamentally changing security environment in Europe," Anderson said.

"The main question for us is how best to protect Sweden, and the Kremlin has shown that it is ready to use force to achieve its political goals," she added.

Meanwhile, Finland is keen to avoid another conflict with Russia, with which it shares a border of about 1,300 kilometers.

"We've had wars with Russia, and we don't want that kind of future for ourselves and our children, and that's why we're making these decisions today and in the coming weeks, so there won't be war again," the Finnish prime minister said.

Today's announcement comes a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Niinisto that joining NATO would be a "mistake", and his assertion that Russia posed no threat to Finland.

Putin also warned that Finland's departure from its traditional neutrality would deteriorate the good-neighborly relations between the two countries.

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