The Finnish government has announced the beginning of a “new era” after announcing its intention to seek NATO membership, hours before Sweden’s ruling party on Sunday backed a plan to join the transatlantic alliance amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Russia has long regretted NATO’s approach to its borders, so developments will undoubtedly anger Moscow even more. President Vladimir Putin has already warned his Finnish counterpart on Saturday that relations would be “negatively affected”.

Speaking on Sunday after a meeting of top diplomats from the alliance’s 30 member states in Berlin on Sunday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the accession process between Finland and Sweden could be very quick. He also expressed hope that Ukraine could win the war as Russia’s military successes seem to falter.

In Finland, President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin said their country would seek NATO membership during a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The formerly neutral northern country has a long border with Russia.

“This is a historic day. A new era is beginning, ”Niinista said.

The Finnish parliament is expected to approve the decision in the coming days. A formal application for membership will be submitted to NATO Headquarters in Brussels, most likely next week.

Sweden is also one step closer to applying for NATO membership after the ruling Social Democratic Party supported joining the transatlantic alliance.

“At today’s meeting, the board of the Social Democrats decided that the party will work to get Sweden to apply for NATO membership,” the party said in a statement.

A plan to join the alliance will be debated in the Swedish parliament on Monday, and the cabinet of Prime Minister Magdalena Anderson will make a statement later that day.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine is not going as planned by Moscow,” Stoltenberg said via video link at a NATO meeting in Berlin as he was recovering from COVID-19 infection. “They failed to take Kyiv. They retreat from the outskirts of Kharkov Their major offensive in the Donbass was delayed. Russia is not achieving its strategic goals. “

“Ukraine can win this war,” he said, adding that NATO must continue to increase its military support.

Sweden has also already taken steps to join the alliance, while Georgia’s bid is being re-discussed, despite Moscow’s dire warnings about the consequences of its neighbor joining NATO.

A member of NATO’s Nordic countries, Norway, said it strongly welcomed Finland’s decision to seek membership. Norwegian Foreign Minister Aniken Huitfeld described Helsinki’s move as a “turning point” for the defense and security policy of the Northern Region.

“Finland’s membership in NATO will be good for Finland, good for the Northern Region and good for NATO. Finland has the full support of Norway, ”Heutfeld said in a comment emailed to The Associated Press.

Heutfeldt said the Norwegian government would promote a “quick agreement on ratification by the Norwegian parliament” for Finland’s accession to NATO.

“We are now witnessing an unprecedented unity in NATO. With Finland’s membership, we will further strengthen the northern flank of the military alliance, “Huitfeldt said.

Stoltenberg said he was confident that the accession process of Finland and Sweden could be accelerated. At the same time, the alliance will increase its presence in the Baltic region to deter Russian threats, he said.

“All allies understand the historical scale of this moment,” Stoltenberg added.

Such sentiments were repeated by German Foreign Minister Annalena Burbock.

“Sweden and Finland, if you are ready, we are ready,” she said.

But NATO member Turkey has expressed concern over the two countries’ accession, saying they support Kurdish militants whom Ankara considers terrorists.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has been revolting against Turkey since 1984, killing tens of thousands of people. Turkey was also outraged by US support for Syrian Kurdish militants linked to the PKK in the fight against the Islamic State group.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Berlin on Sunday that Finland and Sweden had also imposed restrictions on the sale of Turkish defense products, which he called “unacceptable.”

“This is not because we are against NATO enlargement, but because we believe that countries that support terror and pursue such a policy against us should not be allies in NATO,” Cavusoglu said.

However, Stoltenberg said his understanding is that Turkey seeks not to keep Finland or Sweden out of the border, but rather to solve its problems in the first place.

“Turkey has made it clear that they do not intend to block membership,” he said.

However, Turkey’s claims have led to concerns in Washington and Brussels that other NATO members could also use the accession process as a way to obtain concessions from allies, which may complicate and delay accession.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who spoke with Cavusoglu and will see him again on the sidelines of a special meeting of the UN Security Council in New York, declined to comment on the issue. But he expressed confidence that all NATO members would support the applications.

“I have heard almost everywhere very strong support for the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance when they decided to do so, and I am very confident that we will reach a consensus,” he said after the meeting in Berlin.

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

The top British diplomat said that NATO members would also discuss security issues outside Europe during their meeting on Sunday – a reference to the growing anxiety of democracies about the rise of China.

“Apart from protecting Euro-Atlantic security, we must also monitor the security of the Indo-Pacific region,” said Foreign Minister Liz Trass.

Danish Foreign Minister Epe Kofod has dismissed speculation that Putin’s objections could prevent the alliance from admitting new members.

“Now we see a world where the number one enemy of democracy is Putin and the thinking he represents,” Kafod said, adding that NATO would also be with other countries, such as Georgia, which he said were being “instrumentalized” by Russia. . .