Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto has officially announced the country will apply to join NATO.
A formal membership application from Finland is expected to be submitted to NATO headquarters in Brussels next week.
The move is prompted by security fears over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The nation shares a border with Russia that stretches over 1,300 kilometres.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently warned Mr Niinisto that abandoning Finland's traditional policy of military neutrality to join NATO would be an “error”, according to a statement from the Kremlin.
