On May 17, Finland's Parliament voted for the country's entry into NATO, Yle reports..

The decision was supported by 188 out of 200 deputies, only eight opposed.

Further, the issue of joining NATO should be discussed by the government of the country, the final decision is made by the president.. Saule Niinisto can do this already today, May 17, while on a working visit to Sweden.

Joining NATO was discussed in the Finnish Parliament since the morning of May 16. Yesterday, within 14 hours, deputies heard 212 speeches. This morning they rejected an alternative proposal to continue Finland's policy of neutrality..

[see_also ids\u003d"

It was previously reported that Finland and Sweden plan to apply for NATO membership in May..

Thus, both countries decided to speed up the accession procedure, without waiting for the Alliance summit, which will be held at the end of June..

Finland and Sweden have long synchronized their security and defense policies. Unlike their NATO neighbors Denmark and Norway, Sweden and Finland had to rely on themselves. When it turned out that Russia is a much more dangerous neighbor than it seemed, Sweden and Finland revised their position on NATO. Read more in the article by Alina Gritsenko "