Finland to announce NATO membership decision on May 12

Finland will decide to apply for NATO membership on May 12, Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported, citing anonymous government sources, Report informs referring to Reuters.

The decision to join will come in two steps on that day, with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto first announcing his approval for the Nordic neighbor of Russia to join the Western defense alliance, followed by parliamentary groups giving their approval for the application, the paper reported.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed Finland and Sweden to the verge of applying for NATO membership and abandoning a belief held for decades that peace was best kept by not publicly choosing sides.