The Finnish parliament has supported Finland's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. For such a decision Finnish parliamentarians voted almost unanimously.

This is reported by Yle.

188 out of 200 - this number of parliamentarians voted in favor of Finland's application for accession to NATO. There was not a single abstention. Three MEPs were absent.

Now, according to the procedure, the decision on Finland's accession to NATO must be discussed by the country's government. After that the final decision is made by President of the country Saule Niinoste. He is expected to make it today, May 17, while on a visit to Sweden.

The parliamentary discussion on Finland's joining NATO lasted from May 16, Yle said. The deputies listened to 212 speeches in 14 hours. The overwhelming majority of the Assembly rejected the alternative suggestion of continuing Finnish neutrality policy as early as May 17.