Helsinki city
Finland's NATO bid "very likely"
It is "very likely" that Finland will apply for NATO membership as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said Finnish Minister for European Affairs Tytti Tuppurainen
Intense consultations
Finland has held numerous consultations in recent weeks with almost all of NATO's 30 members. With its neighbour Sweden, the country obtained clear assurances from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that the door was open to it, and gleaned numerous expressions of support, from the United States to Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
The turnaround in public opinion has been dramatic: polls now suggest an unprecedented 60% of Finns are in favour of membership - double the number before the war in Ukraine. The share of those against has dropped to around 20%.
While not everyone has yet made their position known, there is also a clear majority in favour of Nato among MPs in parliament. Of the MPs who have already made their position known, about 100 out of 200 are in favour of membership and only 12 are against, according to local media reports.
"Serious consequences".
Moscow regularly threatens Helsinki and Stockholm with "serious political and military consequences" if they join, a warning repeated in recent weeks. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö acknowledged in late March that a NATO bid could provoke "impetuous" responses from Russia - government websites were targeted in cyber attacks on Friday.
Unanimity of members required to join Nato. If Turkey's support seems to be a given according to Helsinki, there is still a question mark with Viktor Orban's Hungary.
According to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, Nato considers that it would take between four and twelve months to finalise a membership - the procedure took 13 months for Northern Macedonia, which last joined in March 2020.
On paper, Finland (5.5 million inhabitants) is a dream candidate, with a record number of reservists, reflecting a vigilance always maintained with regard to the Russian neighbour. "We can mobilise between 280,000 and 300,000 men and women in a few days," said Alexander Stubb