The Finnish Prime Minister has ruled out the possibility of joining NATO in the near future.

The Finnish Prime Minister has ruled out the possibility of joining NATO in the near future.

 The Finnish prime minister has said his country is unlikely to join NATO during his tenure, but has said he will stand with European allies in imposing sanctions on Russia.

Finnish Prime Minister Sana Marin has ruled out joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the near future.

Marin said Wednesday that Finland has no plans to join NATO in the near future, but is ready to stand with its European allies and the United States to impose tough sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine.

“It will have a very important impact and the sanctions will be very tough,” he told Reuters.

“It is very unlikely that Finland will apply to join NATO during my tenure,” he said. “Finland has remained firm in its previous position that if it decides to join NATO one day.”

“No one can influence us, not the United States, not Russia, not anyone else,” Marin was quoted as saying by Reuters. “Overall, I believe that the NATO debate will increase in the coming years.”

Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the organization was assessing the permanent deployment of its forces in Eastern Europe and near the Russian border, adding that Sweden and Finland could also join NATO soon.

US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has previously said that the United States is ready to discuss with Finland and Sweden the possibility of joining NATO if they so wish.