Helsinki/Stockholm - Finland is unlikely to apply for
membership in NATO until 2011 at the earliest, Finnish Foreign
Minister Alexander Stubb said in interview remarks Tuesday.
'Government and president need to be unanimous, and public opinion
has to be much more positive in order for NATO membership to come
about,' Stubb told the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.
'We will keep our option about applying for membership, but it is
not on the cards, at least not under this government, until 2011,'
Stubb said.
A former member of the European Parliament, Stubb has been a
strong supporter of NATO membership He shares that stance with other
members of the conservative National Coalition Party, one of four
parties in Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen's ruling coalition.
President Tarja Halonen, a former foreign minister, has opposed
NATO membership.
A survey conducted last year after the August conflict between
Russia and Georgia suggested 57 per cent of Finns opposed joining
NATO, 23 per cent were in favour while the remaining 20 per cent were
undecided.
Finland cooperates with NATO within the Partnerhsip for Peace
(PFP) framework.
Stubb said he also envisioned closer cooperation in defence
matters with other Nordic neighbours, including Sweden that is also
not a member of NATO.
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