Tag: Niinisto, Sauli

Climate Change and Russia Spell Trouble for NATO Up North

As polar ice melts, Russia, already a major Arctic power, wants to make the region its own. China has ambitions for a “Polar Silk Road.” And NATO is embracing Finland — and Sweden too, Washington hopes — giving the alliance new reach in the Far North. Climate change is accelerating and amplifying competition in the […]

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Sanna Marin, Finland’s Political Rock Star, Could Be Slipping

At a recent campaign rally in her hometown, Tampere, Finland, Prime Minister Sanna Marin defended her time in office and tore into the rising right-wing populist Finns Party, which opposes immigration and is fiercely critical of the European Union. Ms. Marin remains remarkably popular after governing for three and a half years, through the pandemic, […]

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Turkey’s Erdogan Finally Endorses Finland’s NATO Bid, but Not Sweden’s

BRUSSELS — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey gave the go-ahead on Friday for Finland’s application to join NATO, removing a significant hurdle for the Nordic nation’s bid to join the alliance but leaving its neighbor, Sweden, on the sidelines for now. “We decided to start the ratification process in our Parliament for Finland’s membership,” […]

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Finland on Cusp of Joining NATO, but Maybe Not With Sweden

Mate Kocsis, the head of the Fidesz caucus in Parliament, said last week that the legislative body would send a delegation to Finland and Sweden to gain “information” so that lawmakers could make an informed decision. He later acknowledged that there is “very little chance” that they would vote to keep Finland and Sweden out […]

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