As expected, the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, announced on Sunday that his country intended to apply to become a member of NATO. Neighboring Sweden followed suit a few hours later through the voice of the ruling Social Democratic Party.
Updated yesterday at 11:50 p.m.
Fueled directly by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine since February 24, these decisions do not suit Russia, which sees them as a threat to its national security, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has already said. , Thursday.
“It is a historic day. A new era is dawning,” said Sauli Niinistö announcing Finland’s upcoming candidacy. Mr. Niinistö telephoned his counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday to inform him of this decision, which the Russian leader called a “mistake”.
In Stockholm, Social Democrat Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said that a joint Finland-Sweden candidacy to join NATO was “best”.
The leaders of the two countries must submit the membership project to their parliamentarians, at the beginning of the week, before submitting their official candidacy. The Swedish Parliament must be seized of the proposal on Monday, and Mme Andersson intends to go there to “ensure broad parliamentary support”.
Finland and Russia share a border of 1340 kilometers. For Russia, an entry of its neighbor into NATO would mean that the Atlantic Alliance would more than double the size of its common border with Russia.
Already, on Saturday night, Russia expressed its disagreement by ceasing to send electricity to Finland, the equivalent of nearly 10% of the country’s daily consumption. Finland has adjusted by buying more Swedish electricity and increasing its own production.
Join Turkey
PHOTO MICHAEL SOHN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Sunday in Berlin
However, the project will not pass like a letter in the mail, because Turkey denounces the links that Finland and Sweden have with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an organization considered terrorist by many States, including Canada. and the United States. This was recalled by the head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on Sunday in Berlin, where NATO foreign ministers were meeting. While evoking the indignation of the Turkish population in the face of such membership, Mr Çavuşoğlu nevertheless said he was ready to discuss with the two Scandinavian countries. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was hopeful of finding common ground. To join NATO, candidate countries must be admitted by a unanimous vote of member states.
Canadian support
PHOTO MICHAEL SOHN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Sunday in Berlin
Present in Berlin, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, reiterated Canada’s support for Finland’s candidacy. “We will strongly support Finland’s application for NATO membership,” she wrote on Twitter. Finland and Canada have progressive values and Finland is already one of NATO’s close partners. Time is running out and we encourage Allies to work to quickly support this accession. »
Missiles over Lviv
Sur le terrain, une attaque de quatre missiles russes a été dirigée contre une base militaire ukrainienne dans la région de Lviv, rapportait dimanche le gouverneur de la région, Maxim Kozitsky. Au 81e jour de l’invasion, Moscou a aussi affirmé avoir attaqué quatre dépôts de munitions et détruit deux lance-missiles et un système radar ukrainiens dans l’est et le nord-est de l’Ukraine. À Marioupol, des images vidéo montrent ce qui pourrait être une attaque de bombes au phosphore sur l’aciérie Azovstal, où sont retranchés quelque 1000 combattants ukrainiens, dont 600 blessés. Un porte-parole du gouvernement ukrainien, Mykhailo Fedorov, a dénoncé cette situation. Le secrétaire général de l’OTAN, Jens Stoltenberg, a de son côté estimé que l’offensive russe dans le Donbass était « au point mort » et que l’Ukraine « [pouvait] win” the war.
The United States Embassy soon to reopen
Present in Berlin on Sunday, the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, indicated that the United States Embassy in Kyiv would reopen “very soon”. “After several weeks working from Poland, American diplomats are back in Ukraine,” Blinken said. We are taking all the necessary precautions, but everything is on track and we will resume our activities shortly. »
Iran wants to export gas to Europe
Seeking to “develop energy diplomacy” and knowing that the countries of the European Union want to get rid of their dependence on fossil fuels from Russia, Iran is studying the possibility of exporting gas to Europe. “Iran is studying this subject, but we haven’t come to a conclusion yet,” Deputy Oil Minister Majid Chegeni said in a statement carried by the Shana news agency. Before materializing, the project must overcome several obstacles, including putting the Iran nuclear deal back on track, from which the United States withdrew under Donald Trump in 2018.
With the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, NBC News, PointTF1Info and the BBC