NNA - Finland on Thursday took a step towards fast-track membership of NATO, triggering a warning from the Kremlin, as the war in Ukraine throttled supplies of Russian gas to Europe.

"Finland must apply for NATO membership without delay," President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced in a statement in Helsinki.

"NATO membership would strengthen Finland's security," they said. 

"As a member of NATO, Finland would strengthen the entire defense alliance."

But Russia warned Finnish membership of NATO would "definitely" be seen as a threat.

"The expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. -- Associated Press

================= L.Y