Finland wants to join NATO; Russians losing momentum, west says

KYIV, Ukraine - Finland's government declared a "new era" is underway after announcing Sunday its intention to join NATO, while Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope that Ukraine could win the war as Russian military advances appear to be faltering.

Sweden also moved a step closer to applying for NATO membership after the governing Social Democratic party backed joining the trans-Atlantic alliance.

"At its meeting today, the Social Democrats’ party board has decided that the party will work for Sweden to apply for membership in NATO," the party said in a statement.

The plan to join the alliance will be discussed in Sweden's parliament on Monday, and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson's Cabinet will make an announce later that day.

In Finland, President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement that their country would seek membership in NATO during a joint news conference Sunday at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The previously neutral Nordic country shares a long border with Russia.

"This is a historic day. A new era begins," Niinisto said.

The Finnish Parliament is expected to endorse the decision in the coming days. A formal membership application will then be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels, most likely at some point next week.

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The announcement came as top diplomats from the 30 NATO member states met in Berlin to discuss providing further support to Ukraine and moves by Finland, Sweden and others to join NATO in the face of threats from Russia.

"Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as Moscow had planned," Stoltenberg said by video link as he recovers from a COVID-19 infection." "They failed to take Kyiv. They are pulling back from around Kharkiv. Their major offensive in Donbas has stalled. Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives."

"Ukraine can win this war," he said, adding that NATO must continue to step up its military support to the country.

Sweden has also already taken steps toward joining the alliance, while Georgia's bid is again being discussed despite dire warnings from Moscow about the consequences if its neighbor becomes part of NATO.

Nordic NATO member Norway said it strongly welcomed Finland’s decision to seek membership. Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt described Helsinki’s move as "a turning point" for the Nordic region's defense and security policies.

"Finnish membership in NATO will be good for Finland, good for the Nordic region, and good for NATO. Finland has Norway’s full support," Huitfeldt said in comments emailed to The Associated Press.

Huitfeldt said the Norwegian government would facilitate "a swift consent to ratification by the Norwegian Parliament" for Finland's accession into NATO.

"We are now seeing unprecedented unity in NATO. With the Finnish membership, we will further strengthen the Nordic flank of the military alliance," Huitfeldt said.

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Stoltenberg said he was confident the accession process for Finland and Sweden could be expedited in the existing member states. In the meantime, the alliance would increase its presence in the Baltic region to deter Russian threats, he said.

"All allies realize the historic magnitude of the moment," Stoltenberg added.

That sentiment was echoed by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

"Sweden and Finland, if you’re ready, we’re ready," she said.

But NATO member Turkey has raised concerns about the two countries joining, alleging they support Kurdish militants that Ankara considers terrorists.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984 and the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people. Turkey has also been infuriated by U.S. support for PKK-linked Syrian Kurdish militants to fight the Islamic State group.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters in Berlin on Sunday that Finland and Sweden had also imposed restrictions on defense sales to Turkey that he called "unacceptable."

"It’s not because we are against the expansion of NATO but because we believe countries who support terror and follow such policies against us should not be NATO allies," Çavuşoğlu said.

However, Stoltenberg said his understanding is that Turkey aims not to keep Finland or Sweden out but rather to have its concerns addressed first.

"Turkey has made it clear that their intention is not to block membership," he said.

Nonetheless, Turkey's raising of its grievances has led to concerns in Washington and Brussels that other NATO members might also use the admission process as a way to wring concessions from allies, possibly complicating and delaying accession.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke with Çavuşoğlu and will see him again on the margins of a special U.N. Security Council meeting later this week in New York, declined to comment on those concerns. But he voiced confidence that all NATO members would support the bids.

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"I heard almost across the board, very strong support for Finland and Sweden joining the alliance, if that’s what they choose to do, and I’m very confident that we will reach consensus," he said after the meeting in Berlin.

On the sidelines of the Berlin meeting, Blinken met earlier Sunday with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss the impact of the war and how to get Ukraine’s grain to international markets.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken "underscored the United States’ enduring commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s unprovoked war."

Britain's top diplomat said NATO members would also discuss security issues beyond Europe during their meeting Sunday — a reference to growing unease among democratic nations about the rise of China.

"As well as protecting Euro-Atlantic security, we also need to watch out for Indo-Pacific security," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.

The meeting follows a gathering of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies on Germany's Baltic Sea coast this week. Officials there expressed strong support for Ukraine and warned that Russia's blockade of grain exports from Ukrainian ports risks stoking a global food crisis.

Denmark’s foreign minister, Jeppe Kofod, dismissed suggestions that objections from Russian President Vladimir Putin could hinder the alliance from letting in new members.

"We see now a world where the enemy of democracy number one is Putin and the thinking that he represents," Kofod said, adding that NATO would also stand with other countries, such as Georgia, which he said were being "instrumentalized" by Russia.