Finland

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland’s president and prime minister said Thursday they’re in favor of applying for NATO membership, paving the way for the alliance to expand amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The dramatic move by Finland was announced by President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin in a joint statement. It means that Finland is virtually certain to seek NATO membership, though a few steps remain before the application process can begin. Neighboring Sweden is expected to decide on joining NATO in coming days.

HELSINKI, May 11 (Reuters) - Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin should look in the mirror if Finland decides to join NATO to increase its own security.

The Finnish leader was expected on Friday to confirm that Helsinki will apply for membership of the U.S.-led Western military alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Niinisto made his remark when asked by reporters as he met Britain's prime minister in Helsinki to sign a mutual defence cooperation pact whether Finland feared Russian aggression.

HELSINKI, May 11 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said he had agreed new deals with Sweden and Finland to bolster European security, pledging to support both countries' armed forces should they come under attack.

Johnson signed the new declarations, described by Britain as "a step-change in defence and security cooperation", during visits to both Sweden and Finland on Wednesday.

HELSINKI, May 4 (Xinhua)-- The Russia-Ukraine conflict has dramatically increased both uncertainty and business risks for Finnish technology companies, according to a survey released Tuesday.

The survey was conducted by the Technology Industries of Finland on the impact of the Ukraine crisis on the operation of export companies, with 580 tech firm CEOs as respondents.

Since the conflict started, the survey said up to 85 percent of companies in the manufacturing sector reported a further weakening in the availability of raw materials.

HELSINKI (AP) — Swedish police said Monday they consider the violent riots that have shaken several cities and towns in the Nordic country extremely serious crimes against society and suspect some protesters are linked to criminal gangs that intentionally target police.

Sweden, a nation of 10 million, has seen unrest, scuffles, arson and violence since Thursday that has left some police officers and protesters injured. It was triggered by Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan’s meetings and planned Quran burnings across the country.

HELSINKI (AP) — Unrest broke out in southern Sweden late Saturday despite police moving a rally by an anti-Islam far-right group, which was planning to burn a Quran among other things, to a new location as a preventive measure.

Scuffles and unrest were reported in the southern town of Landskrona after a demonstration scheduled there by the Danish right-wing party Stram Kurs party was moved to the nearby city of Malmo, some 45 kilometers (27 miles) south.

HELSINKI, April 8. /TASS/: Finland’s Foreign Ministry will issue permission to return to Russia the exhibits of Russia’s museum collections the Finnish Customs detained earlier.

HELSINKI (AP) — Four U.S. Marines were killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle during a NATO exercise unrelated to Russia’s war in Ukraine, authorities said Saturday.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere tweeted that they died in the crash on Friday night. The cause was under investigation, but Norwegian police reported bad weather in the area.

The Marines, assigned to 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, were taking part in a NATO exercise called Cold Response.

HELSINKI, March 5 (Reuters) - Sweden and Finland will further strengthen their security cooperation in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the prime ministers of both countries said on Saturday, but they were non-committal on joining NATO.

"Russia's war against a sovereign European nation puts the European security order at risk. In this changing security environment, Finland and Sweden will further strengthen our cooperation," Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters in Helsinki at a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.

HELSINKI (AP) — Through the Cold War and the decades since, nothing could persuade Finns and Swedes that they would be better off joining NATO — until now.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has profoundly changed Europe’s security outlook, including for Nordic neutrals Finland and Sweden, where support for joining NATO has surged to record levels.