In it Together? How Russia Pushed Finland and Sweden to Join NATO

CSDS POLICY BRIEF • 4/2023

By Eero Suominen

17.02.2023

The Russian attack on Ukraine was a surprise but so were the consequences. One of them was that Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership. The two formerly neutral countries or “countries not belonging to military alliances” changed their security policy drastically in reaction to the changed security environment and public opinion followed. In mid-May 2022, the Finnish and Swedish parliaments decided in favour of NATO membership. On 5 July, an accession protocol was signed. 28 out of 30 NATO members have, so far, ratified membership, with only Hungary and Turkey missing. Turkey has security concerns with terrorism and it wants Finland and Sweden to address them. Trilateral negotiations continue.

CSDS Policy brief_2304.pdf (344.88 KB)

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