Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by kukkeliskuu on Thursday May 12, 2022 @05:21AM
(#31351284)
Actually it is not a contract, because it is not contractually binding. It is more a promise to help. And Churchill promised to help Finland in WW2 and did not keep his promise.
Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by Wildgoose on Thursday May 12, 2022 @06:37AM
(#31351938)
That's not true. Churchill was not Prime Minister when the Soviet Union invaded Finland.
Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by 2000UltraDeluxe on Thursday May 12, 2022 @06:11AM
(#31351696)
On an international level, there is nothing but promises and sanctions, unless we resort to warfare. Let's hope it won't be neccesary to put those treaties to the test.
Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by kukkeliskuu on Thursday May 12, 2022 @01:15PM
(#31356972)
Ultimately you are of course right, but this is not a fair characterization for this case.
Some agremeents are made through the normal legislative process for each country, and are enforceable by international courts.
These promises by heads of UK and Finland are not that kind of enforceable agreements, as they have not been approved by the legislature. They are just political statements by heads of state.
Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by bigDinosaur on Thursday May 12, 2022 @06:27AM
(#31351836)
How could Britain realistically have helped Finland militarily in WW2?
Re:Finland will seek NATO membership immediately
by 2000UltraDeluxe on Thursday May 12, 2022 @07:00AM
(#31352175)
IIRC, Churchill did try assemble to a force during the Winter war, but there simply wasn't anyway of getting enough men with winter combat experience.
Both Finland and Sweden signed a defence agreement with the UK yesterday. Norwegian newspapers has claimed Denmark, Iceland and Norway are also going to offer Finland and Sweden military aid in case of Russian shenanigans during the application process. That leaves both Finland and Sweden fairly safe, and the only noteworthy risks would be cyber warfare and Russian psy-ops used to turn public opinion against a NATO membership.
As for the application process itself, Stoltenberg pretty much promised a swift handling in the NATO end of things, but as you mention, it has to be unanimous and there is always a chance someone with power might be in Putin's pocket, or oppose the idea for other reasons.