On Thursday, May 12, the President and Prime Minister of Finland announced they would seek to join the NATO alliance “without delay.” President Sauli Niinisto spoke on the importance of NATO to Finland, stating that an alliance would strengthen the nation’s security.

In the upcoming week, historically neutral Sweden is expected to decide whether it will apply for NATO membership. With both Sweden and Finland being close to Russia, the nations have come to an informal agreement to follow in tandem with NATO applications. “We share the idea that close cooperation will benefit both of us,” Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said, hinting that Sweden could follow Finland’s lead.

Parliament member Elina Valtonen tweeted her appreciation for Finland’s decision to apply. “Once again, it’s not NATO expanding itself but the free people of democratic countries choosing to join. NATO is not threatening anybody but an alliance for defense.”

The position is not secured, however. As first reported by Associated Press, Turkey has already spoken out against Sweden and Finland’s potential applications. Turkey stated that they disapprove of the two countries’ alleged support for Kurdish militants, whom Turkey views as terrorists. Turkey has the power, along with the thirty other NATO countries, to veto Sweden or Finland’s applications. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not yet made an official statement of how Turkey will respond to either application.

Russia was predictably displeased with Finland’s decision. They cite the need for “stable” relations between the two nations and that Finland joining NATO would threaten Northern European security. “Russia will be forced to take retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature, in order to neutralize the threats to its national security that arise from this,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

Ambassadors for Russia said that as soon as Finland and Sweden join NATO, they would be considered enemies of Russia instead of neutral nations. “NATO is a very unfriendly bloc to us — it is an enemy,” Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy remarked.

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