Finland would decide on whether to apply to join the 30-member NATO alliance in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters in Sweden's capital Stockholm on Wednesday.
"There are different perspectives to apply (for) NATO membership or not to apply and we have to analyze these very carefully," Marin told reporters in a joint news conference with her Swedish counterpart Magdalena Andersson.
"But I think our process will be quite fast, it will happen in weeks," she said.
Finland's President Sauli Niinisto said on April 2 that neither an official opinion poll nor a referendum are necessary for Finland to join NATO. It is already clear that the majority of the population is in favor of the country joining the defense alliance, Niinisto said in an interview with the public radio station Yle.
Niinisto stressed, however, that it was important for Finland to coordinate with Sweden on this issue and for the two countries to come to the same conclusion. He had already discussed the matter several times with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, and further talks were pending, he said.
Niinisto himself has so far not taken a clear position on the question of Finland's NATO membership.
According to recent polls, however, up to 62% of Finns are now in favor of their country joining NATO. Sweden is also discussing NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. The government there, however, is still against membership.
Finland and Sweden are not yet members of NATO, but they are close partners in the military alliance. Finland shares a 1,300-kilometer (808-mile) border with Russia, making it the EU country with the longest border with the aggressor in the war in Ukraine.
