President of Finland: We want to join NATO as soon as possible

Finland wants to join NATO as soon as possible, according to President Sauli Niinisto. A possible request from Helsinki will be strongly supported by Berlin, said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

“I am convinced that there is an overwhelming majority in the Finnish parliament in favor of an application for membership,” Niinisto told the Süddeutsche Zeitung, expressing hope that in this case NATO would decide very quickly. The Finnish parliament is expected to meet on the issue after Easter and the government will take the relevant decisions before the NATO Summit in June.

“Germany” has no advice to give. Whatever decision Finland makes, it can count on German support, “said Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Helsinki, where he is paying an official visit.

Referring to the latest developments in Ukraine, Steinmeier stressed that “Russia is solely responsible for the barbaric killings.” “Only Russia can stop them,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Stop this madness!”

Mr Steinmeier also called for a lawsuit against Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before the International Criminal Court (ICC). “All those responsible for these crimes must be apologized for,” the German president told Der Spiegel.

Source: AMPE

Source: Capital

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