UK backs Finland's NATO membership, FM says

British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss. File photoLONDON, May 15UK will support Finland's NATO bid, as will Sweden's intention to join the alliance, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.»UK will support Finland's bid for NATO membership NATO must now work quickly to integrate our friends,» Truss tweeted.Finland has made a formal decision to join NATOShe added that London will also support Sweden's intention to join the alliance. On Sunday, Finland officially announced its decision to join NATO. The decision to apply for membership in NATO was also announced by the ruling Social Democratic Party of Sweden, while noting that Sweden, if its application is approved, will oppose the deployment of nuclear weapons and military bases on its territory. According to media reports, the Swedish government has already prepared a letter of application to NATO, it is planned to send it simultaneously with Finland. Finland and Sweden started talking about the possibility of abandoning their long-term neutrality and joining NATO against the backdrop of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The head of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, noted that the alliance would be glad to see Finland and Sweden in its ranks and provide them with the opportunity to quickly join. NATO expects these countries to make their own decisions about possible membership in the coming «months and weeks,» US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said. She added that the United States would welcome the accession of these countries to the alliance. Russia has repeatedly noted that NATO is aimed at confrontation. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that further expansion of the alliance would not bring greater security to Europe, NATO has an aggressive character. At the same time, he noted that he did not consider the possible entry of Sweden and Finland into NATO an existential threat to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö, noted that abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality would be erroneous, since there are no threats to Finland's security. In his opinion, a change in the country's foreign policy may have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which for many years were built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership cooperation, were mutually beneficial. jpg» />Slovakia supports the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO, the Foreign Minister said