The Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday that joining the NATO alliance a year ago has made his country a “front-line state” because it has doubled the military bloc’s border with Russia.
Finland joined NATO in April 2023 and it shares a 1,340-kilometer border with Russia. The border goes through forests in the south and rugged terrain in the north.
Stubb went to Sweden and talked at a news conference in Stockholm with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. For many years, both countries stayed neutral and didn’t pick sides in wars or join any military groups. But that changed when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
Sweden and Finland have a lot of history in common. “We have a shared future,” said Kristersson at the press event. His country joined NATO in March and became the 32nd member.
Finland was part of Sweden for about 700 years until 1809 when it became part of Russia because of a war in Europe. Finland became its own country in 1917 when it broke away from Russia during the Russian Revolution.
Earlier today, Stubb, who became president of the Nordic country in February, said that joining NATO was the last step in embracing the values of the Western community for both countries. Both countries became part of the European Union in 1995.
“Finland and Sweden are important for making peace. ” “We want a strong military and joined NATO because it may seem strange, but that’s exactly why,” Stubb said when speaking to the Swedish parliament.
Stubb, who spoke Swedish, Finland’s second official language, said it was “very important that we took this step together. ”
In Finland, the president has a lot of power when it comes to making decisions about foreign and security policy. This includes dealing with countries outside of the European Union, like the United States, Russia, and China.
Stubb went to Sweden for the first time to meet the Swedish King and Queen.