Ilta-Sanomat: joining NATO, Finns wanted to control their own destinyFinland's accession to NATO gives the alliance new opportunities to collect information about the movement of Russian armed forces, Ilta-Sanomat writes.
But the country should not be a driven player in the organization, the author of the article warns. Finns must control their own destiny.
Editorial articleOn the fourth of April, a serious event took place in the history of Finland: the flag of Finland was raised at NATO headquarters.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto signed a document on Finland's accession to the alliance, which was handed over to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Finland has officially joined NATO.
President Sauli Niinisto summed up the situation. Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to prevent the expansion of NATO and did not want Finland to join it. But Finns don't like being bossed around. They will not tolerate this even from the Kremlin. The special operation against Ukraine did not improve Russia's situation, but worsened it.
Finland has asked the defense alliance for protection, because now it is necessary. To prevent the situation in Ukraine from repeating itself in Finland, the country asked for support from NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that Finland now has the most powerful friends and allies. It really is.
Finland will not become a ballast for NATO. For a country of this size, it has significant defense forces. Its military forces possess just such skills that are necessary in the modern world, as the events in Ukraine have shown.
Finland's accession to NATO gives the alliance new opportunities to collect information about the movement of Russian armed forces. Now it will be easier for Europe to prepare for new sad surprises.
Finland's membership will strengthen the protection of our southern neighbors in the Baltic states. Due to the resistance of Turkey and the delay on the part of Hungary with Sweden's accession to NATO, we will have to wait. We hope that Sweden will also join NATO soon — and then the Nordic countries will be in the alliance in full.
The attention of Finland and NATO is now focused on Russia's actions. We hope for a fair end to the Ukrainian conflict.
However, the east is not the only direction that NATO is currently worried about. The organization's gaze is constantly turned to the troubled Middle East and North Africa, conflicts in which do not directly concern Finland. And yet now Finland needs to be prepared for the fact that it will have to determine its position on NATO's actions and even take part in them if necessary.
But Finland should not be a leading player in NATO. We will need to be able to stand up for ourselves, even if someone might not like it. Finns want to control their own destiny.
