Read also: Ukraine already de facto a NATO member, says country’s defense minister
“We can look down the history and ask ourselves the question, should Ukraine already be a member of NATO?” Politico quotes Marin.
She added that the EU and Western allies should have been more decisive in rebuking Russia’s occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The PM said Finland is seeking NATO membership to avoid becoming a target for Moscow’s aggression.
“We want to become a member of NATO because we don’t ever again want war in Finland,” she concluded.
Read also: Ukraine’s path towards NATO membership should persist despite war, Lithuania says
Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Their accession is being held up by Turkey and Hungary, who are yet to ratify the alliance’s enlargement.
Read also: Ukraine’s path towards NATO membership should persist despite war, Lithuania says
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine’s membership depends on its success in the war with Russia.
On Sept. 30, 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Ukraine applies for NATO membership on an expedited basis. The application was signed by the president, PM Denys Shmyhal, and Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk.
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