The President of the Republic of Finland visited the Washington State Capitol Monday morning, as his visit marks the countries intention to join the North Atlanic Treaty Organization (NATO). Finland President Sauli Niinistö addressed a joint session of the Washington State Legislature, explaining why Finland hopes to join NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In 2022, Finnish leaders said they were in favor of rapidly joining NATO, which would pave the way for a historic expansion of the organization and represent a blow to Russian forces in Ukraine. "In December 2021, when the President of Russia demanded that NATO must not expand eastward, we in Finland knew what it was about," Niinistö said in his address. "He sought to re-establish spheres of influence. And by so doing, he wanted to limit also our right to choose our own alliances. We could not let him do that." Read more: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/finland-president-visiting-washington-state/281-640e8ea3-2ead-4f9a-8add-dc8b56a0807e