"The entry of Sweden and Finland will increase our security, it will show that the doors of NATO are still open," said the secretary general of the Alliance, Jens Stoltengerg, who participated via videoconference in the meeting that the foreign ministers of NATO said on Sunday. NATO kept in Berlin due to his convalescence from coronavirus. While this meeting was taking place in the German capital, the Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, and the Helsinki government jointly and officially confirmed their intention to apply for NATO membership despite threats from Russia. During the course of the meeting there was also the historic vote of the Swedish Social Democratic Party in favor of joining NATO, a step that the two countries have decided to take jointly.

"Tomorrow I will ensure that there is a broad parliamentary majority of support in the Riksdag for the application for Swedish membership and, after that, we will be ready to make the government decision," Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson held at a press conference.

The NATO ministers, who were following these appearances in real time, were willing to facilitate the participation of both armies in Alliance military exercises from now on and to support them with air control operations and the exchange of intelligence information as soon as the request is made. formally presented, which is expected to happen this week. Several NATO powers, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, went further and pledged their support to Finland and Sweden in case of a possible Russian attack during the ratification process, which will last about a year. The United Kingdom has put this commitment in writing in bilateral mutual assistance agreements that include military support in the event of armed aggression.

“Today is a historic day, a new era opens. A protected Finland is born as part of a stable, strong, consistent Nordic region that is aware of its responsibilities," said the president, who described the broad political and social consensus with which the country takes this measure as "proof of the power of the democracy". "Finland is going to maximize its security and this is no harm to anyone," he slipped in reference to Russian displeasure.

Niinistö had a telephone conversation with Putin on Friday to inform the Russian president of the imminent application for NATO membership and in the call they talked about the convenience of "keeping the voltage low", but hours later Russia cut off the electricity supply Finnish companies that import it. The country is prepared for this and other more serious consequences. "The nuclear threat is very serious, but I believe that the decision to join NATO will strengthen our security, also in nuclear matters, instead of weakening us," acknowledged the Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, who explained that "we see a very different from before the invasion of Ukraine. Everything has changed, we cannot trust that the Russian neighbor will be peaceful if we are left alone and the decision to join NATO is made so that there will never be wars in Finland again."

While waiting for the vote in the Edukunta, parliamentary chamber, in which all the political parties have confirmed in advance the vote in favor, except the Left Alliance, which has not yet made a statement, the decision has already obtained the support of the “great majority” of the 30 NATO member countries, which must agree unanimously. This was made clear on Sunday at the meeting of foreign ministers in Berlin, in which only Turkey and Croatia showed reluctance, but no intention of blocking.

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, was convinced that these reserves are "manageable" and assured that "we are working on it." The Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba, expressly thanked Washington for its efforts, "for its leadership and strong support", and the new US initiative to make possible Ukrainian food exports to Asia and Africa. Kuleba reported on the military situation on the ground.

The foreign ministers also shared the information provided by their intelligence services and made a positive assessment of the progress of the armed conflict. "Ukraine can win the war," Steltonberg said during the subsequent press conference, noting that the allies will monitor Russia, which has threatened "technical-military" responses in the event that Alliance weapons are deployed in Finland or Sweden. “The war is not going as Moscow had planned”, the NATO secretary general insisted, “they failed to take kyiv, they are withdrawing from Kharkov and their main offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives. President Putin wants a defeated Ukraine and a divided NATO and Europe. But Ukraine resists and NATO is today stronger than ever. The US and Europe are solidly united, and Ukraine can win this war," he said.

The German Foreign Minister, Annlena Baerbock, host of the meeting with her NATO colleagues, especially insisted on this idea that "Ukraine's victory is still possible" and guaranteed that German military support for Ukraine will be maintained "as long as necessary". for the self-defense of the country.