The decision of Finland to join NATO without Sweden is set to be announced by the country’s government, writes the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti.

According to the newspaper’s sources, the topic was considered last week by the Finnish government. « We must face the reality that we are Russia’s neighbor. The geopolitical situation in Sweden is considerably different from ours, » Iltalehti notes.

After the beginning of the Russian military action in Ukraine, Sweden and Finland decided to join NATO. The agreement of all member states is necessary for a country to join the alliance. Both nations had to comply with a number of Turkey’s demands, which included extradition of many terrorist suspects.

The Koran was burned at the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that Ankara would not accept Sweden’s NATO membership application. Pekka Haavisto, the foreign minister of Finland, agreed to treat Sweden’s NATO membership application independently.

In a meeting with her Swedish colleague Ulf Kristersson on February 2, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin gave the assurance that her country and Sweden will join the alliance simultaneously, no matter what.

source: iltalehti.fi