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Finland will decide on its application for NATO membership on May 12, reports the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, citing its government sources.
The decision would be taken in two steps: initially, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto would announce that he had given the approval, while parliamentary groups would give the approval after him.
Radio Free Europe could not confirm these details provided by the newspaper Iltalehti.
The debate in Finland over membership in the NATO military alliance has started since Russia began its occupation of Ukraine on February 24.
A similar debate is taking place in Sweden.
Both of these countries have been militarily neutral for decades.
Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, while Sweden has no direct border with the Russian state.
Russia has warned of the consequences for NATO if it allows the membership of Finland and Sweden.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said NATO enlargement would not bring more stability to Europe, while Dmitry Medvedev, a member of Russia’s Security Council, said that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO, Moscow will be forced to strengthen its defense in the Baltic by deploying nuclear weapons./REL
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