A Finnish cabinet minister said Friday it was "highly likely" that Finland would apply for NATO membership, just hours after Russia warned of unspecified "consequences" should Helsinki and Stockholm join the military alliance.

Moscow's February 24 invasion of Ukraine has sparked a dramatic U-turn in public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-held policies of military non-alignment.

Finland's prime minister said Wednesday that Nordic nation would decide whether to apply for NATO membership "within weeks", and Sweden is also discussing joining the alliance.

"At this point I can say that it is highly likely, but the decision is not yet made," said Finland's European Affairs Minister Tytti Tuppurainen.

"The people of Finland, they seem to have already made up their mind and there is a huge majority for the NATO membership," she told Britain's Sky News.

Russia's foreign ministry said earlier Friday that the choice was up to Finland and Sweden.

"But they should understand the consequences of such a step for our bilateral relations and for the architecture of European security as a whole," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

Finland has a long history with Russia, with which it shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border. In 1917 it declared independence after 150 years of Russian rule.

During World War II, its vastly outnumbered army fought off a Soviet invasion, before a peace deal saw it cede several border areas to Moscow.

During the Cold War, Finland remained neutral in exchange for guarantees from Moscow that it would not invade.

The Finnish government hopes to build a parliamentary consensus on the issue over the coming weeks, with MPs due to hear from security experts.

Many analysts predict Finland could submit a bid in time for a NATO summit in June.

Any membership bid must be accepted by all 30 NATO states, a process that could take four months to a year.

Russia 'would deploy nuclear arms' near Finland, Sweden if join NATO
Moscow (AFP) April 14, 2022 - Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warned Thursday that Russia would deploy nuclear weapons close to the Baltic States and Scandinavia if Finland or Sweden decide to join NATO.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's security council and president from 2008 to 2012, wrote on Telegram that if the countries joined, this would more than double Russia's land border with NATO members.

"Naturally, we will have to reinforce these borders," he said.

"In this case, it would not be possible to talk any more about the Baltic non-nuclear status. The balance has to be restored," he said, indicating that Russia would be entitled to deploy nuclear weapons in the region.

The former president said Russia would "seriously reinforce its group of ground forces and air defences and deploy significant naval forces in the Gulf of Finland."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about the comments by journalists, said that "this has been talked about many times" and President Vladimir Putin has issued an order on "reinforcing our western flank" due to NATO's growing military potential.

Asked if this reinforcement would include nuclear weapons, Peskov said: "I can't say... There will be a whole list of measures, necessary steps. This will be covered at a separate meeting by the president."

Moscow's military actions in Ukraine have sparked a dramatic U-turn in public and political opinion in both Finland and Sweden over long-held policies of military non-alignment.

Finland said this week it will decide whether to apply for NATO membership within weeks and Sweden is also discussing membership.

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China defends stance on Russia after US criticism
Beijing (AFP) April 14, 2022
China on Thursday defended its stance on the Ukraine conflict as being "on the right side of history", after a US warning that Beijing's unwillingness to sanction Russia could affect its relations with other economies. Beijing has refused to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, treading a diplomatic tightrope between backing its close ally and maintaining ties with the West by avoiding outright violations of sanctions placed on Russia. That has put China at odds with the United States and its a ... read more