Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, April 16, 2013 (photo: European Parliament)

[Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki] Katainen expressed his opinion that Finland should consider NATO membership along with Sweden, when the time is right.

“My personal opinion is that Finland should belong to NATO. It would strengthen Finland’s position. But I’m in the minority,” he said, stressing that the current government does not support his opinion and that the official foreign policy stance of Finland has not changed.

Katainen said that there is no acute security risk facing Finland because of the situation in Ukraine. . . .

He also pointed out that Russia has said that it’s ready to defend its citizens outside of its own borders.

“This is a serious issue that should be discussed openly,” said Katainen, who especially thanked Yle for its Russian-language news service, Novosti, which allows Russian-speakers in Finland to follow the news in their own mother-tongue.