Finland’s prime minister, says her country will decide “within weeks” whether to request to join NATO.

At a joint press conference with Sweden’s prime minister, she said she saw no need to postpone the decision.

Her remarks coincided with a report to the Finnish parliament warning that membership in the union could lead to “greater tensions on the Finnish-Russian border.”

In recent weeks, Moscow has warned Finland and Sweden against joining Nato.

Although Finland and Sweden are not militarily aligned, public support for joining the Western defensive alliance has grown in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s prime minister, told reporters that the same “extremely serious analysis” was being carried out in Finland, and that she saw no reason to intervene.

Ms Andersson was reportedly planning to apply for membership in time for a Nato summit in late June, according to Swedish tabloid Svenska Dagbladet.

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