Finland indicates possibility of joining NATO
In an interview with the Russian newspaper Kommersant, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Timo Soini has stated that he does not rule out the possibility that his country will join the North Atlantic Alliance in the future.
"Neither Finland nor Sweden is yet part of NATO, and as I understand, our countries are not currently discussing accession to NATO. We should not exclude the possibility of joining NATO. Every country should have that opportunity, and that is why open-door politics is important to us," said Soini.
At the same time, he specified that "the position of the current government of Finland is such” that it [joining NATO] is currently "irrelevant".
Additionally, Soini confirmed Finland's commitment to the policy of sanctions against Russia for its actions in the Crimea and the Donbas: "I do not want to speculate on this issue: for now, as you can see, the EU foreign ministers have repeatedly and unanimously continued the package of sanctions for the next six months."