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By Brendan Cole and Yevgeny Kuklychev
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Several accounts on Twitter and Telegram are claiming that Finland is set to join NATO, citing what they purport is a recent vote in the Finnish parliament over the issue.
The Claim
The claims that the Finnish Parliament has voted for the country to join NATO are accompanied by an image of how the vote supposedly went, showing the overwhelming majority of Finnish MPs giving their approval.
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"The Finnish parliament voted to join NATO. Putin tried hard to expand NATO," one user said.
"The parliament of Finland has voted for joining NATO. According to the 'realist' school of how great powers behave Putin now HAS TO invade Finland," tweeted Radoslaw Sikorski, a member of the European Parliament. "Rarely has an intellectual argument had such a clear test of validity."
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The Facts
Helsinki has not voted to join NATO.
No such vote has yet taken place, and the image is simply a graphic representation of the current voting intentions among Finnish MPs.
The prospect of NATO membership for Finland, which has an 830-mile border with Russia, has been gaining traction since the start of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The alliance's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg suggested that Finland, and its neighbor Sweden, would be met with open arms, saying last month, "if they apply, I expect that 30 allies will welcome them."
However, Vladimir Dzhabarov from Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, said that any move by Helsinki to join NATO would be a "strategic mistake."
He added it was unlikely that "the Finns themselves will sign a card for the destruction of their country."
This echoed a threat by Sergei Belyaev, head of the Russian foreign ministry's European department, who said there would be "serious military and political consequences," should Finland join the alliance.
While there is indeed strong support among the politicians and citizens of Finland to join the bloc, the move would entail several additional steps, including a potential referendum.
Although the decision could be made through a simple parliamentary procedure, no date for any such vote has been set.
This week, the parliament began reviewing a white paper on security submitted by the government, which could pave the way for an eventual bid to join NATO.
Eight parliamentary group leaders out of 10 expressed support either for joining NATO or aligning itself militarily, but some have warned against "rubber stamping" any such decision.
Still, the country is widely expected to file a membership application before a NATO summit in Madrid on June 29.
The Ruling
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False.
No vote on joining NATO has yet taken place in the Finnish parliament. The image accompanying such claims is simply a visualization of voting intentions by Finnish MPs.
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